Organic Solar Cells

Samtel Centre for Display Technologies

S. Sundar Kumar Iyer

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Outline

Motivation
Solar cells
Organic solar cells

Background
Working of organic solar cell
Fabrication steps

Research at IIT K
Molecule, device, circuit and system level

Clean Energy Supply Needed for Quality of Life

Fossil and nuclear fuels are costly
If we include the environmental cost

The sun shines on everyone
Ideal for distributed power generation and remote locations

Tap solar energy directly
Ideal for distributed power generation
More environmentally friendly

Annual Mean Global Irradiance

On a horizontal plane at the surface of the earth

W m-2 averaged over 24 h

With 10% efficient solar cell area of solar cell needed in 2004
India 60 km 60 km (0.12% area)
World need: 350 km 350 km

History

1839 Photovoltaic effect discovered by Edmond Becquerel

1954 First Silicon Solar Cell Bell Lab by Chapin, Fuller and Pearson
(6%)
6%)

1970s Surge in research to harness solar energy

1986 Heterojunction Organic Solar Cell by Tang of Eastman Kodak

2007 Highest efficiency solar cells with ~40.7% in Spectrolab

A big surge in solar cells research & development is underway

The Birth of Silicon Photovoltaics

Efficiency 6 %

1mm

Chapin et al. 1954

Space Applications

www.spacetoday.org
marsrovers.nasa.gov

Photovoltaics are the mainstay

Remote Locations
Photovoltaics
are attractive

www.dacres.org

web.worldbank.org

summitclimb.com
8

Consumer Electronics

Grid Supply

Need to make photovoltaics

attractive in the marketplace

www.sun-consult.de

www.e2tac.org
10

Solar Energy Usage and Pricing

Solar markets
(average of last 5 years)

Solar Price/Competing
Energy source

Remote Industrial

17%

0.1-0.5 times

Remote Habitation

22%

0.2-0.8 times

Grid Connected

59%

2-5 times

Consumer Indoor

2%

n/a

Solar Energy: 30 c (Rs. 12) per kWh

Need to lower cost to 10c (Rs.4) per kWh and below
http://www.solarbuzz.com/StatsCosts.htm (2006 data; accessed 29.02.2008)

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Electricity Generation Cost

Energy Source

Cost

Combined cycle gas turbine

3 -5 (Rs.1.20-Rs.2.00)

Wind

4 -7 (Rs.1.60-Rs.2.80)

Biomass gasification

7 -9 (Rs.2.80-Rs.3.60)

Remote diesel generation

20 -40 (Rs.8.00-Rs.16.00)

Solar PV central station

20 -30 (Rs.8.00-Rs.12.00)

Solar PV Distributed

20 -50 (Rs.8.00-Rs.20.00)

http://www.solarbuzz.com/StatsCosts.htm (2006 data; accessed 29.02.2008)

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Solar Energy Production and Price

R.M. Margolis 2003

13

Cost Breakdown of Silicon Photovoltaics

Module
35%

Cell Processing
25%

Silicon Wafer
40%

Data from A. Rohatgi

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Lowering Cost of Solar Cells

Thin Film Solar Cells
Multiple junction solar cells (a-Si:H, a-SiGe:H)
CdTe based cells (CdTe, CdS)
CuInSe2 (CIS) Ternary & Multinary compound solar cells
Multicrystalline/Microcrystalline silicon solar cells
Thin film GaAs solar cells
Organic solar cells

S. Deb 2004

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Efficiency of PV for Different Materials

Spectrolab 40.7%

Organics Photovoltaic
Zweibel et al. 2004

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Why Organic Solar Cells?

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High-Throughput and Low-Cost Processing

Printing
Screen Pringing
Stamping

Spraying

Spin Coating

Vaporisation

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Flexible Solar Cells

Flexible Surfaces

Conformal Surfaces

Prof. Kippelens Group; Georgia Tech

Example show is a
CIGS solar Cells
19

Eco-Friendly Technology

Appropriate Process

Biodegradable Molecule

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Background

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Efficiency of a Solar Cell

h

Fill Factor FF is the ratio of

I
n

V
I

area of maximum rectangle

fitted in the 4th quadrant I-V
and the product of VOC and ISC

RL
Dark

Maximum Power Output

Light

Pmax = VOC ISC FF

I (mA)

VOC

Efficiency
=

ISC

Max
Power
Rectangle

Pmax
Incident Optical Power

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S.M.Sze 1991

V (V)

Classic p-n Junction Photovoltaic Cell

Inorganic Semiconductor
h > Eg= Ec - Ev

e-

h+

Ec
Ev

Ef

Efn

bi

Efp
n-type

-ve

p-type

Ebuilt-in

+ve

Incident photon immediately forms mobile electrons and holes

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Organic Solar Cells Operation

A Heterojunction Organic Solar Cell Structure
Hole Transport
Layer

Anode

Electron Transport
Layer

e-

Exciton

Charge Transport & Collection

e-

by diffusion

h
e-+

Photon Absorption

Cathode

h+

Exciton Formation
EHP Formation

Exciton Diffusion
Exciton Dissociation24

Photovoltaic Process In Organic Solar Cells

Sunlight


Coupling
of sunlight
into
solar cell

Absorption
of
incident
photons

Light
Photons
Reflected
Not
Away
Absorbed

Creation
of
excitons

Creation
of
free
charges

Excitons
Recombine

Separation
of charges
by built-in
E field

Collection
of charges
at
electrodes

Charges
Charges
Recombine Recombine


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Device Fabrication

Al
Ca

Al
Ca

Metal Deposition

Active Layer
Deposition

Active Layer
PEDOT:PSS
ITO

PEDOT:PSS Coating
Transparent Glass Substrate

Contacts

ITO Patterning

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Highest Efficiency Reported OSC Till Date

www.sciencemag.org SCIENCE VOL 317 13 JULY 2007 pp. 223-225

Tandem Cell: Jsc = 7.8 mA cm-2, Voc = 1.24 V, FF = 0.67 and = 6.5%

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Organic Solar Cell Work at IIT K

28

The Team

Prof. Satyendra Kumar (Physics)

Dr. Ashish Garg (MME)

Prof. Baquer Mazhari (EE)

Prof. R. Gurunath (Chemistry)

Dr. S.P. Das (EE)

Dr. P.S. Sensarma (EE)

Dr. R.S. Anand (EE)

Dr. Vibha Tripathi (EE)

Prof. Y.N. Mohapatra, Prof. Deepak Gupta, Prof. Monica Katiyar,
Dr. Siddhartha Panda, Dr. Narain,

S. Sundar Kumar Iyer

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The Processing Laboratory

ISO 6, 220 m2

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Characterisation Facilities

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Three Pronged Approach

Increasing efficiency of device
Physics and circuit model of organic solar cells
Choice of Material
Structure Blend, Bilayer, Tandem
Process Optimisation

Reliability and Stability
Choice of Material
Mechanism of Degradation
Encapsulation Techniques

New & emerging technology issues
Novel methods of fabrication
System level issues

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Organic Solar Cell Model

Vint

D2

RS

Rs, int.

D1
IP

Ddark

RSH

Rshunt, int.

New Model
RS

IL is a function of voltage

Exciton generation IP is a constant

I
+

IL

RSH
-

B. Mazhari 2006

Traditional Model

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Optical Efficiency O


Optical losses maybe due to


n0=1 for air

Reflection at the surface 

n1,

Unabsorbed light leaking out 

Device
Back electrode

R=

(n1-n0 +

Anti Reflection Coating (ARC)

Texturing the top surface

O = 1-R where
)2

Solutions

(n1+n0) + 2

Concentrators
Thickness of layers

ni : refractive index of medium i

: attenuation coefficient in device

34

Light Trapping by TiO2 Nanoparticles

100

100

TiO2 particle is dispersed in P3HT-PCBM-TiO2_40

the P3HT:PCBM blend

90

P3HT:PCBM
P3HT:PCBM + TiO2

70

Reflectance(%)

Reflectance (%)

80 80
60 60
50

 

40 40
30

Device

20 20

Back electrode

10

0
300

300

Jyoti Singh 2008

400

500
500

600

700
700
(nm)
(nm)

800

900
900

1000

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Cathode Variation

Current Density (mA cm-2)

Active Area
Glass

Al
Ca
ITO

Voltage (V)

Illumination:
AM1.5D 100 mW cm-2

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Nitin Sahai 2008

Effect of Post Process Anneal

P3HT: PCBM Blend
Heterostructure

Aluminium Cathode

Glass

Vinod Pagare 2007

Polymer Blend
PEDOT:PSS
ITO

37

Degradation Models
Degradation under Electrical & Optical Stress

Statistically arrive at parameters that matter most

Identify the physics of degradation
Use learning to increase device lifetime

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Munish Jassi 2006

Summary

Organic solar cells offers unique opportunities in future
Low-cost high volume production
Distributed production
Environmentally benign devices

Work at IIT Kanpur
Molecule and material level
Process
Device level
Circuit level
System level
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Let us make Organic Solar Cells Happen!

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