Modular construction of P3HT/PCBM planar-heterojunction solar cells by lamination allows elucidation of processing–structure–function relationships

Contrary to polymer solar cells with bulk-heterojunction active layers, devices with planar-heterojunction active layers allow the decoupling of active layer phase separation from constituent crystallization, and their relative influence on device performance. We fabricated planar-heterojunction devices by first processing the electron donor and electron acceptor in isolation; they were subsequently laminated across the donor–acceptor interface to establish electrical contact. Thermal annealing was intentionally avoided after lamination to maintain the pristine charge transfer interface. Lamination thus obviates the need for solvent orthogonality; more importantly, it provides independent process tuning of individual organic semiconductor layers, ultimately allowing control over constituent structural development. We found the short-circuit current density of planar-heterojunction solar cells comprising poly(3-hexyl thiophene), P3HT, and [6,6]-phenyl-C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester, PCBM, as the electron donor and acceptor, respectively, to be generally independent of the annealing history of P3HT. On the contrary, thermal annealing PCBM prior to lamination mainly led to a reduction in short-circuit current density. This deterioration is correlated with the development of preferentially oriented PCBM crystals that hinders electron transport in the vertical direction.     

Electronic structure and carrier transport at laminated polymer homojunctions

Soft contact lamination, whereby films prepared separately from solution are brought into contact to form a single device, was used here to form homojunctions comprising two identical layers of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) or two layers of poly[(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl)-co-(1,4-benzo-{2,1′-3}-thiadiazole)] (F8BT). Using ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS), Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (KPFM), and current–voltage (I–V) measurements, the electronic structure of, and carrier transport across, these homojunctions were investigated. UPS and KPFM show that lamination does not introduce any significant offset in the molecular levels across the interface. The I–V characteristics confirm this result by showing that transport across the film is largely unaffected by the presence of the laminated interface. This important result means that lamination could become a versatile tool for constructing multi-layer polymer devices.     

Sputtered ZnO seed layer enhances photovoltaic behavior in hybrid ZnO/P3HT solar cells

We investigated the characteristics of inverted solar cells comprising bulk-heterojunction active layers of ZnO nanowire arrays and poly(3-hexylthiophene), P3HT. By utilizing a sputtered ZnO seed layer, we are able to grow vertically oriented ZnO nanowire arrays homoepitaxially. Unlike the ZnO nanowires that are grown on sol–gel derived seed layers, our nanowires are more uniform in their dimensions and spatial distribution. This sputtered seed layer also acts as the hole-blocking layer when these nanowire arrays are incorporated in solar cells; hybrid solar cells comprising these nanowires and P3HT exhibit power conversion efficiencies of 1.6%. To date, this is the highest efficiency observed for ZnO nanowire arrays:P3HT hybrid solar cells.     

Role of majority and minority carrier barriers silicon/organic hybrid heterojunction solar cells

A hybrid approach to solar cells is demonstrated in which a silicon p-n junction, used in conventional silicon-based photovoltaics, is replaced by a room-temperature fabricated silicon/organic heterojunction. The unique advantage of silicon/organic heterojunction is that it exploits the cost advantage of organic semiconductors and the performance advantages of silicon to enable potentially low-cost, efficient solar cells.     

Available bandwidth estimation for the network paths with multiple tight links and bursty traffic

Available bandwidth (ABW) estimation is useful for various applications such as network management, traffic engineering, and rate-based multimedia streaming. Most of the ABW estimation methods are based on the fluid cross-traffic model. Inevitably, their estimation accuracy is limited in the network environments with bursty cross-traffic. In this paper, we apply packet trains (a series of probing packets) and a modified Ping to probe the ABW of a network path. Our proposed probing method can identify several tight links along a path and can infer their individual ABWs. The ABW estimation algorithm developed in this study, GNAPP, is also based on the fluid traffic model, but it can effectively filter out probing noise incurred in networks that carry bursty traffic. The algorithm employs not only the gaps of any two consecutive probing packets but also those of nonadjacent probing packets for ABW estimation. Thus, the number of samples for ABW estimation increases significantly without resorting to sending more probing packets and the estimation efficiency and accuracy are improved. In addition, two-stage filtering and moving averages are used in GNAPP for reducing estimation errors. Numerical results demonstrate that the estimation scheme based on GNAPP can achieve good accuracy even when the traffic is bursty and there are multiple tight links on the path being observed. Thus, it outperforms other well-known ABW estimation tools.     

Platoon-Based Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control for Achieving Active Safe Driving Through Mobile Vehicular Cloud Computing

Wireless Personal Communications - The cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC) aims to achieve active safe driving that avoids vehicle accidents or a traffic jam by exchanging the road traffic...     

Sequence of annealing polymer photoactive layer influences the air stability of inverted solar cells

The sequence with which the polymer photoactive layer is annealed during inverted solar cell fabrication not only affects device characterization, it also influences the stability of devices dramatically. Devices in which the photoactive layer is annealed after top electrode deposition outlast devices in which the photoactive layer is annealed before top electrode deposition. This difference in device stability is traced to the grain structure and grain size of the top electrode, which in turn shows strong dependence on the underlying morphology of the photoactive layer. Annealing the photoactive layer causes significant roughening of the film; subsequent metal deposition results in electrodes with small grains. It is moisture penetration through the grain boundaries of the metal electrode that results in the deterioration of photovoltaic characteristics in devices in which the photoactive layer is annealed before top electrode deposition.     

Fluorinated and hydrogenated self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on anodes: Effects of SAM chemistry on device characteristics of polymer solar cells

We adsorbed fluorinated-alkyl (F_mSAM) and hydrogenated-alkyl (H_mSAM) phosphonic acids with different molecular lengths on anodes of bulk-heterojunction polymer solar cells. We found the fill factors and series resistances of devices having F_mSAMs to more steeply depend on molecular length than those having H_mSAMs. We attribute this phenomenon to the smaller tunneling decay factor of H_mSAM compared to F_mSAM, which is consistent with DFT calculations that reveal differences in the extents of electron density localization of the highest occupied molecular orbitals of these species.     

Thin crystal melting produces the low-temperature endotherm in ethylene/methacrylic acid ionomers

Upon extended aging at room temperature, ethylene/methacrylic acid (E/MAA) ionomers develop an endotherm near 50 °C in their differential scanning calorimetry traces. The origin of this low-temperature endotherm has been the subject of considerable debate, in part because direct structural probes have been little applied to its study. Here, we use in situ small-angle X-ray scattering and wide-angle X-ray diffraction to show that this endotherm reflects the melting of thin polyethylene crystals, which gradually develop following primary crystallization. These secondary crystals form within the amorphous layers separating primary crystals. When the framework of primary crystals is oriented by crystallization during flow, the secondary crystals follow this orientation, indicating that the secondary crystals are not isometric fringed micelles but instead have a substantial lateral extent.