Influence of Indium Tin Oxide Surface Treatment on Spatially Localized Photocurrent Variations in Bulk Heterojunction Organic Photovoltaic Devices

Abstract

A correlation between anode surface treatment and spatially localized photocurrent variations has been found in bulk heterojunction poly(3-hexylthiophene):[6,6]-phenyl- C-61-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM) organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices. Atomic force photovoltaic microscopy was used to scan arrays of 2 m diameter OPV devices with varied indium tin oxide (ITO) surface treatments. The standard deviation of the average photocurrent was found to be 11.4%for devices fabricated on untreated ITO, 8.6% for devices with a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) interlayer, and 6.7% for devices with a HCl-treated ITO surface. These results suggest that spatial variations in the structure and electronic properties of the anode surface degrade the overall performance of OPVs, including reductions in short-circuit current by up to 20%, thus highlighting the importance of surface treatments that improve the homogeneity of ITO.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2011
Accession Number
ADA571183

Entities

People

  • Benjamin J. Leever
  • Ian P. Murray
  • Mark Hersam
  • Michael F. Durstock
  • Tobin J. Marks

Organizations

  • Northwestern University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Chemical Synthesis
  • Chemistry
  • Electron Microscopy
  • Films
  • Materials
  • Materials Laboratories
  • Materials Science
  • Microscopy
  • Military Research
  • Physical Chemistry
  • Self Assembled Monolayers
  • Solar Cells
  • Solar Energy
  • Standards
  • Surface Chemistry
  • Surface Energy
  • Surface Finishing

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Solar Photovoltaics and Thermoelectric Devices.
  • Surface Coatings Technology.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics
  • Microelectronics - Graphene