Ultrasonic spray deposition for production of organic solar cells

Recent improvements of organic photovoltaic power conversion efficiencies have motivated development of scalable processing techniques. We compare chlorobenzene and p-xylene, as solvents with similar bulk properties, in a case study of ultrasonic spray depositions of bulk heterojunction layers in photovoltaic devices. Structure and morphology of spray-deposited films are investigated via small-angle X-ray diffraction and optical microscopy. Unique phases are observed in bulk heterostructure films sprayed from p-xylene. Films sprayed from chlorobenzene resulted in higher device efficiencies than p-xylene due to large differences in film morphologies. Carrier loss mechanisms are also investigated. Post-production annealing increases power conversion efficiency to 3.2% when chlorobenzene is used.     

Bulk heterojunction organic solar cells utilizing 1,4,8,11,15,18,22,25-octahexylphthalocyanine

Bulk heterojunction solar cells utilizing soluble phthalocyanine derivative, 1,4,8,11,15,18,22,25-octahexylphthalocyanine (C6PcH₂) have been investigated. The active layer was fabricated by spin-coating the mixed solution of C6PcH₂ and 1-(3-methoxy-carbonyl)-propyl-1-1-phenyl-(6,6)C61 (PCBM). The photovoltaic properties of the solar cell with bulk heterojunction of C6PcH₂ and PCBM demonstrated the strong dependence of active layer thickness, and the optimized active layer thickness was clarified to be 120 nm. By inserting MoO₃ hole transport buffer layer between the positive electrode and active layer, the FF and energy conversion efficiency were improved to be 0.50 and 3.2%, respectively. The tandem organic thin-film solar cell has also been studied by utilizing active layer materials of C6PcH₂ and poly(3-hexylthiophene) and the interlayer of LiF/Al/MoO₃ structure, and a high V_oc of 1.27 V has been achieved.     

Structural and interfacial properties of large area n-a-Si:H/i-a-Si:H/p-c-Si heterojunction solar cells

Growth of hydrogenated amorphous silicon in a doping inversed silicon heterojunction solar cell (n-a-Si:H/i-a-Si:H/p-c-Si) interface was investigated by High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR-TEM), Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (SE), Fourier Transform Infrared Attenuated Total Reflection spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR) and current–voltage (I–V) measurements. Effective Medium Approximation (EMA) to the SE was used to describe breakage of epi-Si and evolution of mixture of microcrystalline and amorphous phases. Fabricated silicon heterojunction solar cells were characterized by dark and light I–V measurements at Standard Test Conditions. By improving the cleaning and deposition conditions, solar cells with 9.2% efficiency over 72 cm² total active area were obtained on p-type c-Si wafers.     

Fabrication of highly ordered and vertically oriented TiO2 nanotube arrays for ordered heterojunction polymer/inorganic hybrid solar cell

Highly ordered and vertically oriented TiO₂ nanotube arrays with a length of 250 nm and a diameter of 70 nm were prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD) coupled with anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template. An ordered heterojunction (OHJ) polymer/inorganic hybrid solar cell was fabricated by successful infiltration of P3HT into the nanotube arrays. Structural features of the nanotube arrays enabling the interdigitated structure of the OHJ were discussed and the performance of the solar cell was characterized to be the power conversion efficiency of 0.50%.     

Fabrication and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sensing performance of p-polyaniline/n-PbS heterojunction at room temperature

In the present work, we report the fabrication and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sensing performance of p-polyaniline/n-PbS heterojunction at room. The p-polyaniline/n-PbS heterojunction was fabricated by electrodepositing polyaniline on predeposited PbS thin film by chemical bath deposition. The PbS and polyaniline films were characterized for their structural as well as surface morphological analyses. The XRD analyses revealed that PbS thin film is polycrystalline whereas polyaniline exhibited amorphous nature. The scanning electron micrographs of PbS film showed the formation of compact and well covered nanograins whereas, polyaniline has interconnected fuzzy nanofibrous architecture. Room temperature LPG response of heterojunction in forward biased condition showed the maximum response up to 70% at 0.06 vol.% of LPG.     

Photo-degradation and stabilization effects in operating organic photovoltaic devices by joint photo-current and morphological monitoring

We report on a joint morphological/photoelectrical study of polymer-based photovoltaic (PV) cells in working conditions. The bulk heterojunction devices investigated are based on an active layer of poly(3-hexyl thiophene) blended with methano-fullerene, combining good PV performances with promising stability. The set-up adopted allowed the electrical properties of the device to be directly correlated to the modification of the electrode morphological parameters (thickness and roughness), which were obtained by in situ energy dispersive X-ray reflectometry (EDXR). The results of this joint time-dependent characterization demonstrated how the observed photo-induced oxidation process, limited to the buried electrode interface, is responsible for a fast decrease in the photo-current. The time-resolved measurements allowed to rule out the dynamics of the morphological changes and showed that the interface morphology may be stabilized by annealing treatments, with a significant improvement of the cell efficiency.     

Copper migration in cdte heterojunction solar cells

CdTe solar cells were fabricated by depositing a Au/Cu contact with Cu thickness in the range of 50 to 150Å on polycrystalline CdTe/CdS/SnO₂/glass structures. The increase in Cu thickness improves ohmic contact and reduces series resistance (R_s), but the excess Cu tends to diffuse into CdTe and lower shunt resistance (R_sh) and cell performance. Light I-V and secondary ion mass spectros-copy (SIMS) measurements were performed to understand the correlations between the Cu contact thickness, the extent of Cu incorporation in the CdTe cells, and its impact on the cell performance. The CdTe/CdS/SnO₂/glass, CdTe/ CdS/GaAs, and CdTe/GaAs structures were prepared in an attempt to achieve CdTe films with different degrees of crystallinity and grain size. A large grain polycrystalline CdTe thin film solar cell was obtained for the first time by selective etching the GaAs substrate coupled with the film transfer onto a glass substrate. SIMS measurement showed that poor crystallinity and smaller grain size of the CdTe film promotes Cu diffusion and decreases the cell performance. Therefore, grain boundaries are the main conduits for Cu migration and larger CdTe grain size or alternate method of contact formation can mitigate the adverse effect of Cu and improve the cell performance.     

SiGe-collector trench gate insulated gate bipolar transistor fabricated using multiple target sputtering

A new type of trench gate IGBT (insulated gate bipolar transistor) which uses a SiGe layer for the collector is experimentally investigated. SiGe collectors with different Ge content are deposited by multiple cathode sputtering making low temperature processing possible. The change in turn-off characteristics with Ge content is also investigated. Results indicate that the use of a SiGe collector reduces the tail current at turn-off due to the reduced injection of holes to the n⁻ drift region.     

半导体激光器的制造新技术

半导体激光器是激光器中的一种,它的制造技术有分子束外延、液相外延、金属有机物化学气相淀积、低压金属有机物化学气相淀积和化学束外延等.结果表明,器件特性与制备方法有关.例如:利用金属有机气相外延生长的GaAs/GaAlAs异质结,可以制造高精致的大功率激光器,其波长为780～880nm.用具有特殊波导特性的质量阱(QW)结构能满足大功率需要.各种参量包括这些层的结构和配合以及多层结构的光、电特性,通过该方法大面积生长外延层而达到最佳化.本文重点介绍上述技术的生长机理、实验系统简图、典型工艺以及在器件制造上的应用.     

Light-induced changes in the solar cell parameters and temperature coefficient of n-C/p-Si heterojunction solar cell

Amorphous carbon (a-C) is a potential material for the development of low-cost and high-efficiency solar cell. We report the study of the influence of light soaking up to 100 h on n-C/p-Si heterojunction solar cell. It is observed that the deterioration in the fill factor and the efficiency are significantly smaller as compared to that observed in a-Si:H solar cell. Variations in the temperature coefficients of the I–V characteristics subjected to light degradation and recovery has also been investigated. A good correlation between change in the temperature coefficient and the degradation/recovery state of cell's conversion efficiency has been observed.