Pentacene/K12 solar cells formed by organic vapor phase deposition

Abstract

Abstract. This study reports on an organic solar cell structure utilizing K12 as a new low-temperature processable small-molecule acceptor material. Pentacene (PEN) and K12 were deposited onto indium tin oxide by means of organic vapor phase deposition (OVPD) as bilayer solar cells. The resulting solar cell was characterized electrically by current density-voltage (J − V) measurements and optically by photocurrent and reflectivity measurements. The J − V characteristic under AM 1.5 illumination indicates a short-circuit current of 0.45 mA∕cm 2 (J sc ), a fill factor of 38% (FF), and an open-circuit (V oc ) voltage of 0.71 V. Current generation is found to predominantly occur in the K12 layer, although strong light absorption in the PEN layer is detected. We suggest that either a dipole shift between the layers or the fission of singlet excitons in the PEN layer leads to this observation. Although the efficiency of the device is low in combination with PEN, our experiment successfully demonstrates the use of K12 as a lowtemperature acceptor material in OVPD processes.