Transparent polymer solar cells employing a layered light-trapping architecture
Summary (1 min read)
PC-Tn-Ag
- B, Schematic view of the fabricated photovoltaic cells.
- Two stripes of ITO were crossed by eight stripes of silver layers defining 9 mm2 cells.
- The thicknesses for the photonic-crystal layers correspond to a device for which the current density–voltage curve would be similar to the one shown in c.
- For a transparent photovoltaic window there are essentially two parameters that determine its performance: the efficiency of converting light to electricity and the device visible transmission or luminosity.
- For near-infrared photons in the 650–900 nm range, the Jsc corresponds to 91% that of opaque cells.
Methods
- To fabricate the devices the authors used two different kinds of ITO-patterned substrates, one with 120-nm-thick ITO and another with 330-nm-thick ITO.
- In Supplementary Table S3, the specific architectures of the fabricated devices are provided.
- The fabricated photonic-crystal structure comprises a non-periodic alternation of low- and high-index-refraction layers with thicknesses of 100 nm, as shown schematically in Fig. 1b and Supplementary Table S13.
- The photonic-crystal and semi-transparent back electrode of 10 nm of silver were deposited using a thermal evaporation system (Mini SPECTRO, Kurt J. Lesker Company).
- The PCE of the fabricated devices was determined from current density–voltage curve measurements obtained under 1 sun, AM 1.5G spectrum illumination from a solar simulator (Abet Technologies, model Sun 3000).
Author contributions
- R.B. and P.R.-G. contributed equally in the optical simulation, design and fabrication of the transparent organic cells, including the non-periodic photonic crystal.
- The project was planned and supervised by J.M.
- The manuscript was written by J.M. with the assistance of all other authors.
Additional information
- Supplementary information is available in the online version of the paper.
- Reprints and permissions information is available online at www.nature.com/reprints.
- Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to J.M.
Competing financial interests
- The authors declare no competing financial interests.
- NATURE PHOTONICS | ADVANCE ONLINE PUBLICATION | www.nature.com/naturephotonics6 © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited.
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Frequently Asked Questions (22)
Q2. How many photons are absorbed during the first pass?
With such an extinction coefficient and a 100-nm-thick layer, approximately half the photons at any given wavelength are not absorbed during the first pass.
Q3. What is the transmission for the PC-Tn-Ag cell?
for near-ultraviolet and near-infrared wavelengths, the predicted transmission is below 10% for the PC-Tn-Ag, whereas it stays above 30% for the Tn-Ag cell.
Q4. What is the main reason why OPVs are so attractive?
such low charge mobility and the resulting associated semi-transparency of the active layer may turn out to be the strongest asset for OPVs to compete in the photovoltaic production of electrical energy.
Q5. What is the simplest way to measure the efficiency of a photovoltaic window?
For a transparent photovoltaic window there are essentially two parameters that determine its performance: the efficiency of converting light to electricity and the device visible transmission or luminosity.
Q6. What is the way to achieve the maximum interference?
A periodic multilayer optimizes the interference to obtain maximum reflectivity at the wavelength satisfying the Bragg condition.
Q7. What is the effect of the top layer on light harvesting?
To summarize, in organic transparent cells, light harvesting diminishes because the reflectivity of the top layer is reduced and the device loses its capacity for photon trapping.
Q8. How can the authors improve near-infrared photon harvesting?
Enhancing near-infrared photon harvesting is also achievable by considering donor polymers with an absorption band infrared-shifted close to 800 nm.
Q9. What are the properties of organic solar cells?
T he unique properties of the active material used to capture solar photons in organic photovoltaics (OPVs)—light weight, flexibility, semi-transparency, sensitivity to low light levels or non-direct sunlight, and solution-processing—make OPVs one of the most attractive photovoltaic technologies for the development of electricity production units to be integrated into everyday life.
Q10. How does the research show that the photon management of the cell is sufficient?
The authors demonstrate that the photon management provided by a non-periodic onedimensional structure of five layers is sufficient to return the light-harvesting capacity of the device to 77% that of the opaque cell.
Q11. What is the effect of the thickness of the top electrode?
When the thickness of the top electrode is reduced to 10 nm, the collection of photons becomes less effective and the EQE is reduced at all wavelengths (Fig. 2a).
Q12. What is the way to capture photons in organic solar cells?
Reharvesting infrared or ultraviolet photons that are lost in semi-transparent devices requires either additional changes in the cell architecture or the use of materials with an enhanced absorption in the near-ultraviolet and especially in the near-infrared.
Q13. What is the simplest way to fabricate a photonic crystal?
The fabrication of such a photonic-crystal structure requires the use of methods and materials that do not introduce damage or degradation to the electrical properties of the cell underneath.
Q14. What is the composition of the photonic crystal?
The photonic-crystal structure the authors designed combines layers of a low-refractive-index material (LiF) with layers of highrefractive-index material (MoO3).
Q15. What is the simplest way to extract the largest current from a thin-film semitrans?
Proper light management becomes an essential issue if it is desirable to extract the largest current from such thin-film semitransparent devices.
Q16. How can a two- or three-dimensional nanostructuring be achieved?
In principle, broader light management could be achieved by implementing a two- or three-dimensional nanostructuring of the refractive index.
Q17. What is the significance of the EQE for the PC-Tn-Ag cell?
This confirms the relevance of increasing the degrees of freedom to reach a high level of tailoring for the EQE and, eventually, improve the performance of the device.
Q18. What is the effect of a gain in transparency on cell performance?
Such a gain in transparency is quite detrimental to cell performance, particularly in the near-infrared, because this is precisely the spectral region where the number of solar photons is largest.
Q19. What was the method used for the deposited photonic crystal?
The photonic-crystal and semi-transparent back electrode of 10 nm of silver were deposited using a thermal evaporation system (Mini SPECTRO, Kurt J. Lesker Company).
Q20. How was the photonic multilayer structure fabricated?
the photonic multilayer structure was fabricated by thermal evaporation of low-refractive-index (LiF) and high-refractive-index (MoO3) materials.
Q21. What was the PCE of the fabricated devices?
The PCE of the fabricated devices was determined from current density–voltage curve measurements obtained under 1 sun, AM 1.5G spectrum illumination from a solar simulator (Abet Technologies, model Sun 3000).
Q22. What is the thickness of the top electrode for the Tn-Ag cell?
For the Tk-Ag device the thickness of the evaporated top silver electrode is 100 nm, whereas for the Tn-Ag cell, shown schematically in Fig. 1b, the thickness of the top electrode is only 10 nm.