Optical Simulations of Organic Solar Cells with PBDB-T:ITIC and PTB7:PC71BM Photoactive Layers
Main Article Content
Abstract
In this work, we present a comprehensive optical simulation analysis of bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells where PBDB-T:ITIC incorporated with PTB7:PC71BM blends served as photoactive layers. The simulations were performed using transfer matrix method implemented through a MATLAB script that is developed by McGehee’s research group at Stanford University. This method involves calculating the optical transmission and reflection at each interface within the multilayer stack, as well as the attenuation of light within each layer. A comparative evaluation was conducted for solar cells employing these active layers in both conventional and inverted configurations, with a focus on key performance metrics including light-harvesting efficiency (LHE), exciton generation rate within the active layer (), and the maximum achievable short-circuit current density (). The obtained results showed that for both types of active layers, the inverted structure achieves a larger compared to the conventional structure. Additionally, the PBDB-T:ITIC-based absorber outperforms the PTB7:PC71BM-based absorber in terms of .
Keywords:
Organic solar cells, optical simulations.
References
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[3] Y. Cui et al., Fine-Tuned Photoactive and Interconnection Layers for Achieving Over 13% Efficiency in a Fullerene-Free Tandem Organic Solar Cell, J. Am. Chem. Soc., Vol. 139, No. 21, 2017, pp. 7302-7309, https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.7b01493.
[4] M. Li et al., Solution-processed Organic Tandem Solar Cells with Power Conversion Efficiencies >12%, Nat. Photonics, Vol. 11, No. 2, 2017, pp. 85-90, https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2016.240.
[5] T. Kumari, S. M. Lee, S. H. Kang, S. Chen, C. Yang, Ternary Solar Cells with A Mixed Face-on and Edge-on Orientation Enable An Unprecedented Efficiency of 12.1%, Energy Environ. Sci., Vol. 10, No. 1, 2017,
pp. 258-265, https://doi.org/10.1039/c6ee02851a.
[6] W. Zhao et al., Fullerene-Free Polymer Solar Cells with Over 11% Efficiency and Excellent Thermal Stability, Adv. Mater., Vol. 28, No. 23, 2016, pp. 4734-4739, https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201600281.
[7] Z. He, C. Zhong, S. Su, M. Xu, H. Wu, Y. Cao, Enhanced Power-conversion Efficiency in Polymer Solar Cells Using An Inverted Device Structure, Nat. Photonics, Vol. 6, No. 9, 2012, pp. 591-595.
[8] S. O. Kasap, Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices, 4th Edition, McGraw-Hill Education, 2017, pp. 890-894.
[9] H. Fujiwara, Spectroscopic Ellipsometry: Principles and Applications, John Wiley & Sons, 2007.
[10] G. F. Burkhard, E. T. Hoke, Transfer Matrix Optical Modeling, McGehee Group (Stanford Univ). 2011, Available online: http://web.stanford.edu/group/mcgehee/transfermatrix/index.html (accessed on: May 15th, 2024).
[11] G. F. Burkhard, E. T. Hoke, M. D. McGehee, Accounting for Interference, Scattering, and Electrode Absorption to Make Accurate Internal Quantum Efficiency Measurements in Organic and Other Thin Solar Cells, Adv. Mater., Vol. 22, No. 30, 2010, pp. 3293-3297, https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201000883.
[12] L. A. A. Pettersson, L. S. Roman, O. Inganäs, Modeling Photocurrent Action Spectra of Photovoltaic Devices Based on Organic Thin Films, J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 86, 1999, pp. 487-496, https://doi.org/10.1063/1.370757.
[13] P. Peumans, A. Yakimov, S. Forrest, Small Molecular Weight Organic Thin-Film Photodetectors and Solar Cells, J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 93, 2003, pp. 3693-3723, https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1534621.
[14] R. Kerremans, C. Kaiser, W. Li, N. Zarrabi, P. Meredith, A. Armin, The Optical Constants of Solution‐Processed Semiconductors—New Challenges with Perovskites and Non‐Fullerene Acceptors, Adv. Opt. Mater., Vol. 8, No. 16, 2020, pp. 2000319, https://doi.org/10.1002/adom.202000319.
[15] C. Stelling, C. R. Singh, M. Karg, T. A. F. König, M. Thelakkat, M. Retsch, Plasmonic Nanomeshes: Their Ambivalent Role As Transparent Electrodes In Organic Solar Cells, Sci. Rep., Vol. 7, 2017, pp. 1-13, https://doi.org/10.1038/srep42530.
[16] A. N. M. Alahmadi, Design of an Efficient PTB7:PC70BM-Based Polymer Solar Cell for 8% Efficiency”, Polymers (Basel), Vol. 14, No. 5, 2022, pp. 889, https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14050889.
[17] W. Li, W. Li, Y. Feng, C. Yang, Numerical Analysis of the Back Interface for High Efficiency Wide Band Gap Chalcopyrite Solar Cells, Sol. Energy, Vol. 180, 2019, pp. 207-215, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2019.01.018.
[18] A. Mang, K. Reimann, S. Rübenacke, Band Gaps, Crystal-field Splitting, Spin-orbit Coupling, and Exciton Binding Energies in Zno Under Hydrostatic Pressure, Solid State Commun., Vol. 94, No. 4, 1995, pp. 251-254, https://doi.org/10.1016/0038-1098(95)00054-2.
[19] Y. Zhou et al., A Universal Method to Produce Low-Work Function Electrodes for Organic Electronics, Science, Vol. 336, No. 6079, 2012, pp. 327-332, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1218829.
[20] R. Jaymin et al., PbS-ZnO Solar Cell: A Numerical Simulation, J. Nano-Electron. Phys., Vol. 9, No. 3, 2017,
pp. 3041, https://doi.org/10.21272/jnep.9(3).03041.
[21] S. A. J. Thomson, S. C. Hogg, I. D. W. Samuel, D. J. Keeble, Air Exposure Induced Recombination in PTB7:PC71BM Solar Cells, J. Mater. Chem. A, Vol. 5, No. 41, 2017, pp. 21926-21935, https://doi.org/10.1039/c7ta03741d.
[22] M. Mohan et al., Efficient Organic Photovoltaics with Improved Charge Extraction and High Short-Circuit Current, J. Phys. Chem. C, Vol. 121, No. 10, 2017, pp. 5523-5530, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.7b01314.
[23] X. Su et al., Understanding of Photophysical Processes in DIO Additive-treated PTB7:PC71BM Solar Cells, Crystals, Vol. 11, No. 9, 2021, https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst11091139.
[24] Y. Miao, Y. Xu, Y. Zhang, X. Yan, K. Ye, Y. Wang, Constructing Efficient Organic Photovoltaic Devices with A Spirobifluorene Based Water/Alcohol-Soluble Cathode Interlayer, New J. Chem., Vol. 42, No. 11, 2018,
pp. 8960-8967, https://doi.org/10.1039/c8nj00807h.
[25] H. Yao et al., Achieving Highly Efficient Nonfullerene Organic Solar Cells with Improved Intermolecular Interaction and Open-Circuit Voltage, Adv. Mater., Vol. 29, No. 21, 2017, pp. 1-8, https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201700254.
[26] B. Ebenhoch, S. A. J. Thomson, K. Genevičius, G. Juška, I. D. W. Samuel, Charge Carrier Mobility of the Organic Photovoltaic Materials PTB7 and PC71BM and Its Influence on Device Performance, Org. Electron., Vol. 22, 2015, pp. 62-68, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgel.2015.03.013.