Abstract:In organic solar cells (OSCs), a thick active layer usually
yields
a higher photocurrent with broader optical absorption than a thin
active layer. In fact, a ∼300 nm thick active layer is more
compatible with large-area processing methods and theoretically should
be a better spot for efficiency optimization. However, the
bottleneck of developing high-efficiency thick-film OSCs is the loss
in fill factor (FF). The origin of the FF loss is not clearly understood,
and there a direct method to identify photoactive… Show more
“…PTQ10 and PM7, on the other hand, slightly underperform for very thin films compared to the other donors; however, PTQ10 displays a remarkable steadiness in performance for thicker layers, and thus provides a wider processing window, which is well in accordance with different studies, where low thickness dependencies for the FF are observed in combination with PTQ10. [56,[61][62][63][64] This underlines its suitability for upscaling-PTQ10 is able to form a high-performing device within a broad thickness range and is a cost-effective material-and was thus selected as active donor material of choice for fully solution-processed, semitransparent devices.…”
Section: Photoactive Layer: Balancing Layer Thickness and Performancementioning
While the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic photovoltaics (OPV) on small‐area lab cells has rapidly increased during the last few years, the performance on module level and the availability of OPV modules on the market is still limited, primarily due to specific constraints imposed by the industrial production process. This work deals with the upscaling process of latest‐generation OPV from small‐area lab cells to fully solution‐processed modules, which are compatible to industrial roll‐to‐roll (R2R) printing. We demonstrate this transfer step by step from material selection and process optimization for every single layer of the stack (photoactive layer, charge transporting layers, and solution‐processed top electrode) – including long‐term stability investigations (thermal and light) – to scaling up the device area by a factor of >100. Thus, a semitransparent OPV module with 10.8 % PCE on 10.2 cm² active area is achieved, which is among the highest performances for semitransparent, fully solution‐processed OPV modules. The individual developments all meet the requirements for industrial R2R printing (green solvents, processing in air, annealing ≤ 140 °C etc.), which ensures that both the optimized layer stack and the fabrication process are fully scalable and easily transferable to large‐scale production.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
“…PTQ10 and PM7, on the other hand, slightly underperform for very thin films compared to the other donors; however, PTQ10 displays a remarkable steadiness in performance for thicker layers, and thus provides a wider processing window, which is well in accordance with different studies, where low thickness dependencies for the FF are observed in combination with PTQ10. [56,[61][62][63][64] This underlines its suitability for upscaling-PTQ10 is able to form a high-performing device within a broad thickness range and is a cost-effective material-and was thus selected as active donor material of choice for fully solution-processed, semitransparent devices.…”
Section: Photoactive Layer: Balancing Layer Thickness and Performancementioning
While the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic photovoltaics (OPV) on small‐area lab cells has rapidly increased during the last few years, the performance on module level and the availability of OPV modules on the market is still limited, primarily due to specific constraints imposed by the industrial production process. This work deals with the upscaling process of latest‐generation OPV from small‐area lab cells to fully solution‐processed modules, which are compatible to industrial roll‐to‐roll (R2R) printing. We demonstrate this transfer step by step from material selection and process optimization for every single layer of the stack (photoactive layer, charge transporting layers, and solution‐processed top electrode) – including long‐term stability investigations (thermal and light) – to scaling up the device area by a factor of >100. Thus, a semitransparent OPV module with 10.8 % PCE on 10.2 cm² active area is achieved, which is among the highest performances for semitransparent, fully solution‐processed OPV modules. The individual developments all meet the requirements for industrial R2R printing (green solvents, processing in air, annealing ≤ 140 °C etc.), which ensures that both the optimized layer stack and the fabrication process are fully scalable and easily transferable to large‐scale production.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
“…Consequently, it is the low carrier mobility that limits the performance of thick active‐layer OSCs, resulting in the reduction of the FF that is mainly determined by the competition between the charge recombination and charge extraction. [ 18,46‐47 ]…”
Section: Mechanism For Efficiency Lossmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…(c) Key photovoltaic parameters of PM6:N3:PC 71 BM and PTQ10:N3:PC 71 BM OSC devices at different active layer thicknesses. Reproduced with permission, [ 18 ] Copyright 2022, American Chemical Society.…”
Section: Mechanism For Efficiency Lossmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Further, So and colleagues [ 18 ] conducted a simulation of OSCs for varying active layer thicknesses based on PM6:N3:PC 71 BM and PTQ10:N3:PC 71 BM on the utilization of the spectral light. Considering the spectral absorbance for film thicknesses of ∼100 nm and ∼300 nm calculated by the transfer matrix method, the 100 nm thick active layers exhibit two distinct absorption local maxima, accompanied by a relatively weak absorption at 650 nm.…”
Section: Mechanism For Efficiency Lossmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…[ 12‐17 ] Nevertheless, owing to the limited mobility of charge carriers and the severe charge accumulation caused by the tail states in organic semiconductors and p‐dopant in the air, coupled with the complications of regulating the microstructure of the films, thick active‐layer devices are plagued by considerable charge recombination, leading to a decline in efficiency in comparison to their thin‐film counterparts. [ 18‐20 ] Consequently, the acquisition of high‐ performance thick active‐layer devices constitutes a vital scientific problem and formidable challenge in the field of OSC.…”
Organic solar cells (OSCs) present a promising renewable energy technology due to their cost‐effectiveness, adaptability, and lightweight nature. The advent of non‐fullerene acceptors has further boosted their significance, allowing for power conversion efficiencies that surpass 19% even with an active layer thickness of about 100 nm. However, in order to achieve large scale production, it is necessary to fabricate OSCs with thicker active layers exceeding 300 nm that are compatible with large‐area printing techniques. Nevertheless, OSCs with thick active layers have inferior performance compared to those with thin active layers. To expedite the transition of OSCs from laboratory to industrial high‐throughput manufacturing, considerable efforts have been made to comprehend the performance limitations of thick active‐layer OSCs, develop novel photoactive materials that are high‐performance and tolerant towards the thickness of the active layer, and optimize the morphology of the photoactive layer and device structure. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the mechanisms that lead to efficiency loss in thick active‐layer OSCs, the representative works on molecular design, and the optimization strategies for high‐performance thick active‐layer OSCs, and the remaining challenges that must be addressed.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Organic solar cells (OSCs) process fascinating solution‐printing capability to achieve low‐cost and large‐scale manufacture. However, the rapid power conversion efficiency (PCE) decay with active layer thickness enlargement inhibits the implement of OSCs’ potential advantages. To overcome the bottlenecks of PCE decay in thick active layer OSCs, the electrical doping with componential selectivity in bulk heterojunction (BHJ) film is achieved by introducing a solid solvation additive. Benefiting from the higher exciton splitting efficiency together with the longer drift (Ldr) and diffusion (Ldiff) lengths, an OSC with 100 nm BHJ film demonstrates a PCE increment from 16.44% to 18.24% with prolonged dark and illuminated storage stabilities. Applying the solid solvation assisted (SSA) doping method in the OSCs with 500 nm active layer, the PCE significantly increases by 31.9%, from the original value of 11.79% to 15.55%. It further improves to 15.84% in a ternary blend thick‐film device, which is the record value to the best of our knowledge. Besides, the SSA doping narrows the PCE gap between the 0.04 and 1 cm2 devices. All improvements demonstrate the great potential of SSA doping for OSC commercial manufacture, since it optimizes the photovoltaic performance under all practical conditions of long‐term, thick‐film, and large‐area.
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