Work

Origin of the enhanced performance in poly(3-hexylthiophene): [6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester solar cells upon slow drying of the active layer

Year: 2006

Type: article

Abstract: The origin of the enhanced performance of bulk heterojunction solar cells based on slowly dried films of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester is investigated, combining charge transport measurements with numerical device simulations. Slow drying leads to a 33-fold enhancement of the hole mobility up to 5.0×10−7m2V−1s−1 in the P3HT phase of the blend, thereby balancing the transport of electrons and holes in the blend. The resulting reduction of space-charge accumulation enables the use of thick films (∼300nm), absorbing most of the incoming photons, without losses in the fill factor and short-circuit current of the device.

Source: Applied Physics Letters

DOI: 10.1063/1.2212058