The authors demonstrate the triggering of surface plasmons at the interface of a metal grating and a photovoltaic bulk heterojunction blend of alternating polyfluorenes and a fullerene derivative. An increased absorption originating from surface plasmon resonances is confirmed by experimental reflection studies and theoretical modeling. Plasmonic resonances are further confirmed to influence the extracted photocurrent from devices. More current is generated at the wavelength position of the plasmon resonance peak. High conductivity polymer electrodes are used to build inverted sandwich structures with top anode and bottom metal grating, facilitating for triggering and characterization of the surface plasmon effects.

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Blends of polyfluorene-fullerenes are promising materials for polymer-based photovoltaic devices (PPVD). Using spectroscopic ellipsometry we deduce the dielectric function for the blend of the fullerene derivative [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) and the alternating polyfluorene copolymer, poly [2,7-(9,9-dioctyl-fluorene)-alt-5,5-(4′,7′-di-2-thienyl-2′,1′,3′-benzothiadiazole)] DiO-PFDTBT (4:1 by weight), for the wavelength interval 250–1300nm. n reaches above 2 and saturates to 1.9 for high wavelengths. Absorption starts at 720nm (1.72eV) and reaches a crest around 550nm (2.25eV). The spin coating introduces anisotropy in the blend, manifested in birefringence as well as in dichroism. The dielectric function for the blend versus its constituents is not additive. There are indications that the constituents lost their dielectric identity, as screening cannot explain the experimental data. Simulations of optical absorption inside a PPVD are performed for both monochromatic and polychromatic light, using an air mass 1.5 distributed solar irradiation. The model allows calculation of absorbed energies in absolute values in all layers within the device. An optimization is carried out with respect to the layer thicknesses. From a purely optical perspective there is no gain of optical absorbance in including an additional layer of acceptor. Spatially resolved energy dissipation within the device is presented for polychromatic light. Estimates for quantum efficiencies are derived. Experimental and theoretical results for reflectance are compared.

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The propagation speed of the front of electrochemical conversion, from semiconductor to highly doped polymer, in films of regioregular poly͑3-hexylthiophene͒ spin cast on insulating substrates was analyzed. Propagation of the p-doped zone in polymer electrochromic devices was imaged simultaneously with recording of electrochemical data. The current is proportional to the propagation speed and has a Tafel-like behavior when taking the resistive drop in the film into account. The resistivity in the film, which gradually lowers the propagation speed, was used for determination of the conductivity of the p-doped polymer. By combining these values with the doping charge injected into the film during front migration we estimated the hole carrier mobility for different doping levels.