Improved Efficiency of Hybrid Organic Photovoltaics by Pulsed Laser Sintering of Silver Nanowire Network Transparent Electrode

Abstract

In this Research Article, we demonstrate pulsed laser processing of a silver nanowire network transparent conductor on top of an otherwise complete solar cell. The macroscopic pulsed laser irradiation serves to sinter nanowire-nanowire junctions on the nanoscale, leading to a much more conductive electrode. We fabricate hybrid silicon/organic heterojunction photovoltaic devices, which have ITO-free, solution processed, and laser processed transparent electrodes. Furthermore, devices which have high resistive losses show up to a 35% increase in power conversion efficiency after laser processing. We perform this study over a range of laser fluences, and a range of nanowire area coverage to investigate the sintering mechanism of nanowires inside of a device stack. The increase in device performance is modeled using a simple photovoltaic diode approach and compares favorably to the experimental data.

Encapsulation of silver nanowire networks by atomic layer deposition for indium-free transparent electrodes

“…The resistance of the AgNW intersections mainly depends on the contact areas between these wires. To reduce the resistance at the intersection, a heat treatment step [32,33] or an optical postprocessing step like plasmonic/UV welding [34] and pulsed laser sintering [35] can be carried out which yields an intimate contact of wires due to a local sintering of wires at their contact areas [32,36].…”

A Transparent, Smooth, Thermally Robust, Conductive Polyimide for Flexible Electronics

“…Figure illustrates the fabrication process; starting with a rigid flat substrate (glass is used here), we deposit AgNWs from suspension via a spray nozzle. After the AgNWs are deposited onto the glass, we post‐process the network to increase the conductivity with laser irradiation, described in detail in our previous work . The now post‐processed nanowire network is spin coated (Figure b) with titania sol‐gel.…”

Laser–Material Interactions for Flexible Applications

“…Laser–material interactions have achieved excellent compatibility with metallic nanoparticles (NPs) and nanowires (NWs), enabling simple platforms of printed electronics. These NPs and NWs processed by lasers are expected to provide an alternative solution for several intrinsic drawbacks of indium tin oxide (ITO), which include high material cost, slow deposition rate, and brittle nature of the material.…”