Characteristics of flexible indium tin oxide electrode grown by continuous roll-to-roll sputtering process for flexible organic solar cells

The preparation and characteristics of flexible indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes grown on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates using a specially designed roll-to-roll sputtering system for use in flexible organic solar cells are described. It was found that both electrical and optical properties of the flexible ITO electrode were critically dependent on the Ar/O₂ flow ratio in the continuous roll-to-roll sputter process. In spite of the low substrate temperature (<50 °C), we can obtain the flexible ITO electrode with a sheet resistance of 47.4 Ω/square and an average optical transmittance of 83.46% in the green region of 500-550 nm wavelength. Both X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy analysis results showed that all flexible ITO electrodes grown on the PET substrate were amorphous with a very smooth and featureless surface, regardless of the Ar/O₂ flow ratio due to the low substrate temperature, which is maintained by a cooling drum. In addition, the flexible ITO electrode grown on the Ar ion-beam-treated PET substrates showed more stable mechanical properties than the flexible ITO electrode grown on the wet-cleaned PET substrates, due to an increased adhesion between the flexible ITO and the PET substrates. Furthermore, the flexible organic solar cell fabricated on the roll-to-roll sputter-grown flexible ITO electrode at an optimized condition exhibited a power conversion efficiency of 1.88%. This indicates that the roll-to-roll sputtering technique is a promising continuous sputtering process in preparing flexible transparent electrodes for flexible solar cells or displays.     

Semi-transparent metal electrode of Cu-Ni as a replacement of an ITO in organic photovoltaic cells

We demonstrate an indium-free organic photovoltaic cell that incorporates an ultrathin metal film as a semitransparent anode. In the proposed device structure, the indium tin oxide electrode is replaced by an ultrathin Cu-Ni bilayer. When an NiO is used as the hole transporting layer, the characteristic photovoltaic parameters of the cell fabricated with the metal electrode are similar to those of the device fabricated with the indium tin oxide (ITO). Despite the fact that the metal electrode exhibits a transparency that is 65% of the ITO electrode, the short-circuit current for the metallic anode based cell is 77% of the ITO based one, indicating that the photon absorption could be enhanced by the optical microcavity formed between the Cu-Ni and Al electrodes. The overall photo-conversion efficiency for the metallic electrode based cell is 76% of the ITO based one, which was measured to be 3.3%. The obtained performances of ultrathin metals when included in the cell architecture used here, combined with their low cost, high compatibility with other materials, and mechanical flexibility, confirm their potentials for organic photovoltaics.     

ITO-free flexible organic solar cells with printed current collecting grids

The presence of a transparent conductive electrode such as indium tin oxide (ITO) limits the reliability and cost price of organic photovoltaic devices as it is brittle and expensive. Moreover, the relative high sheet resistance of an ITO electrode on flexible substrates limits the maximum width of a single cell. We have developed an alternative ITO-free transparent anode, based on solution processed high conductive PEDOT:PSS in combination with a printed current collecting grid. The screen printed silver grid demonstrates a typical sheet resistance of 1 Ω/□ with 6.4-8% surface coverage. The efficiency of a flexible device with an active area of 4 cm² with such a grid is much higher than a similar device based on ITO. Furthermore, as this composite anode is solution-processed, it is a step forward towards low-cost large area processing.     

Effects of intrinsic ZnO buffer layer based on P3HT/PCBM organic solar cells with Al-doped ZnO electrode

Organic solar cell devices were fabricated using poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and 6,6-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), which play the role of an electron donor and acceptor, respectively. The transparent electrode of organic solar cells, indium tin oxide (ITO), was replaced by Al-doped ZnO (AZO). ZnO has been studied extensively in recent years on account of its high optical transmittance, electrical conduction and low material cost. This paper reports organic solar cells based on Al-doped ZnO as an alternative to ITO. Organic solar cells with intrinsic ZnO inserted between the P3HT/PCBM layer and AZO were also fabricated. The intrinsic ZnO layer prevented the shunt path in the device. The performance of the cells with a layer of intrinsic ZnO was superior to that without the intrinsic ZnO layer.     

Ag grid/ITO hybrid transparent electrodes prepared by inkjet printing

An Ag grid/indium tin oxide (ITO) hybrid transparent electrode was developed for printable optoelectronic devices using inkjet printing. By inserting an inkjet-printed Ag grid between inkjet-printed ITO electrodes, the sheet resistance of the inkjet-printed ITO electrode was significantly reduced from 6.5 to 0.54 Ω/square. However, the optical transmittance of the Ag grid/indium tin oxide (ITO) hybrid electrode gradually decreased with decreasing Ag grid separation distance due to the scattering of light on the Ag grid lines. From the figure of merit values of the Ag grid/ITO hybrid transparent electrodes, the optimized Ag grid width for the hybrid electrodes was determined to be 3 mm, which is consistent with the calculated results. The low sheet resistance and fairly high optical transmittance of the Ag grid/ITO hybrid transparent electrode suggests its use as a transparent electrode for inkjet printing-based printable optoelectronic devices.     

ITO-free low-cost organic solar cells with highly conductive poly(3,4 ethylenedioxythiophene): p-toluene sulfonate anodes

Indium tin oxide (ITO)-free organic solar cells were fabricated with highly conductive and transparent tosylate-doped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene: p-toluene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PTS) anodes of various thicknesses that were prepared by the vapor-phase oxidative polymerization of EDOT using Fe(PTS)₃ as an oxidant. Both solution-processable layers - PEDOT:PSS and photoactive P3HT:PCBM - were spin coated. The anodes transmittance and conductivity varied with thickness. Power conversion efficiency was maximized at 1.4%. The ITO-free organic solar cells photovoltaic characteristics are qualitatively compared with those of ITO-based organic solar cells to explore the possibility of replacing costly, vacuum-deposited ITO with highly conductive, patterned polymer films fabricated by inexpensive vapor-phase polymerization.     

Platinum nanoparticles ion-implanted-modified indium tin oxide electrode for electrocatalytic oxidation of formaldehyde

A facile and low-cost method is developed to ion implant platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) onto indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode. This modified electrode is eco-friendly without the use of any linking chemicals. The PtNPs formed on the electrode are in the zero-valent metallic state with a size distribution in the range of 5–12 nm. The modified electrode surface becomes smoother after platinum ion implantation and the PtNPs formed on the electrode. Electrochemical performances are measured by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometric. The PtNPs/ITO electrode shows prominent electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of formaldehyde with long-term stability, which could be useful in fuel cells.     

Polythiophene/fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cell fabricated via electrochemical co-deposition

We report a polythiophene/fullerene (C₆₀) bulk heterojunction solar cell fabricated via electrochemical co-deposition of polythiophene (PTh) and fullerene on an indium tin oxide (ITO) glass electrode modified with a thin layer of poly (3,4-ethylenedioxylthiophene) (PEDOT). Although the amount of C₆₀ incorporated into the film was relatively low, the photovoltaic performance of the cell based on the polythiophene/fullerene (PTh/C₆₀) composite film was remarkably improved.     

Low resistance and highly transparent ITO–Ag–ITO multilayer electrode using surface plasmon resonance of Ag layer for bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells

We comprehensively investigated the electrical, optical, structural, mechanical, interfacial, and surface properties of ITO–Ag–ITO (IAI) multilayer electrodes grown on glass substrates by linear facing target sputtering (LFTS) for bulk-heterojunction organic solar cells (OSCs). Although the single ITO electrode with a thickness of 150 nm showed a fairly high sheet resistance of 34 Ω/square, the IAI multilayer electrode exhibited a very low sheet resistance of 4.4 Ω/square due to the low resistivity of the inserted Ag layer. Without using a substrate heating or post-annealing process, we were able to obtain an IAI multilayer electrode with a low sheet resistance, comparable to that of a crystalline ITO electrode, using the room-temperature LFTS process. In addition, the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and antireflection of the optimized Ag layer significantly increased the optical transmittance of the IAI multilayer. It was found that the optimization of the thickness of the Ag layer is very important to obtain transparent IAI multilayer electrodes, because the SPR effect is critically affected by the Ag morphology. Moreover, the OSC fabricated on the optimized IAI electrode with an Ag thickness of 16 nm showed a higher power conversion efficiency (3.25%) compared to that prepared on the amorphous ITO electrode (2.35%), due to its low sheet resistance and high optical transmittance at 400–600 nm, which corresponds to the absorption wavelength of the organic active layer. This indicates that IAI multilayer electrodes grown by LFTS are promising transparent conducting electrodes for OSCs or flexible OSCs due to their very low resistivity and high optical transmittance.     

Numerical study of electrical behavior of P3HT/PCBM bulk heterojunction solar cell

In this work the program AMPS-1D was used to optimize the performance of the organic solar cells. The cells considered consist of poly(3-HexylThiophène) [P3HT] as electron donors, and (6,6)-phenyl- C61-butyric acid methyl ester [PCBM] as electron acceptor, (P3HT/PCBM) is used as photo-active material, sandwiched between a transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) and layer of poly(3,4 ethylenedioxythiophene)/ poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT/PSS) on top of the ITO electrode and an AL backside contact. The results showed that the optimum thickness of the solar cell is about 400 nm, V_oc = 0.61 at T = 300 K. This is in the good agreement with the corresponding computer simulation value of 0.63 V. The maximum limit for the organic solar cell efficiency is about 8%, provided that the band-gap of the cell is about 1.5 eV.     

Interface modification to optimize charge separation in cyanine heterojunction photovoltaic devices

We investigate heterojunction photovoltaic devices using the carbocyanine 1,1′-diethyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethylcarbocyanine perchlorate (Cy5) as donor and buckminsterfullerene (C₆₀) as acceptor. We find that photocurrent generation occurs at the interface between CY5 and indium tin oxide (ITO) as well as at the organic heterointerface. By analyzing the spectral dependence of the photocurrent as a function of applied voltage, we were able to demonstrate that poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) inhibits electron injection from the cyanine into ITO. Since the photocurrent generation at the ITO electrode is opposite to the one generated at the organic heterojuncion, the use of PEDOT leads to increased short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage.     

The effect of surface treatment on omni-directional efficiency of the silicon solar cells with micro-spherical texture/ITO stacks

A “bottom-up” surface texturing method based on nozzle-sprayed microspheres and spin-coated dielectric film has been proposed. The fill factor was improved by the use of indium tin oxide (ITO) as an antireflection coating (ARC) due to an increased effective area for carrier collection. The pretreatment using HCl prior to ITO deposition was found to suppress the formation of interfacial oxide at the ITO/Si junction. An enhancement in the short-wavelength response (400-600 nm) and an improvement in the short-circuit current (J_SC) were accomplished. The difference in the efficiency (Δη) between the cells fabricated with ITO incorporating micro-spherical textures (MSTs) and those by KOH texturing was 13.5% at a light incident angle of 60°, comparatively larger than the difference in efficiency of 7.4% observed at normal incidence. These results demonstrate the superior omnidirectional antireflection property of the ITO+MST structure.     

Performance of electron beam deposited tungsten doped indium oxide films as anodes in organic solar cells

Tungsten doped indium oxide (IWO) thin films have been investigated as an alternative to indium tin oxide (ITO) anodes in organic solar cells (OSCs). The surface morphology, electrical, and optical properties of the IWO films grown by electron beam deposition were studied as a function of oxygen flow rate. For 120 nm thick IWO films deposited on float glass substrates at 350 °C and oxygen flow rate of 35 sccm, an electrical resistivity of 4.78×10⁻⁴ Ω cm and average transmittance of over 78% between 400 and 2000 nm were obtained. OSCs based on poly(3-hexylthiophene) and [6,6]-phenyl C₆₁-butlyric acid methyl ester were prepared on glass/IWO electrodes and the device performance was investigated as a function of IWO films with different oxygen flow rates. OSCs fabricated on the optimum IWO anode (oxygen flow rate of 30-35 sccm) exhibited a power conversion efficiency of ∼3.5%, which is comparable with the same device made on commercial glass/ITO electrodes (3.75%).     

Nitrogen-doped graphene-supported zinc sulfide nanorods as efficient Pt-free for visible-light photocatalytic hydrogen production

Nitrogen-doped graphene-ZnS composite (NG-ZnS) was synthesized by thermal treatment of graphene-ZnS composite (G-ZnS) in NH₃ medium. In the second step, the as-synthesized samples were deposited on indium tin oxide glass (ITO) by electrophoretic deposition for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction. The as-prepared NG-ZnS-modified ITO electrode displayed excellent photocatalytic activity, rapid transient photocurrent response, superior stability and high recyclability compared to the pure ZnS and G-ZnS-modified ITO electrode due to the synergy between the photocatalytic activity of ZnS nanorods and the large surface area and high conductivity of N-graphene.     

Comparison of normal and inverse poly(3-hexylthiophene)/fullerene solar cell architectures

Polymer solar cells based on regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and ([6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester) (PCBM) were fabricated with two different architectures (normal and inverse). Normal cells using indium tin oxide (ITO) as anode and Al as cathode were fabricated on polyester foils and illuminated from substrate side. Inverse cells using Ti as cathode and ultrathin Au layer as anode were illuminated from the top side covered by a transparent Au contact. Both Au layer and PET/ITO show comparable transmission in the spectral range where P3HT absorbs. Inverse cells showed comparable device parameters to normal cell (open circuit voltage 550 mV, short circuit current 6.25 mA/cm², fill factor 0.33 and white light power conversion efficiency 1.12%).     

Effect of indium and tin contamination on the efficiency and electronic properties of organic bulk hetero-junction solar cells

Organic photovoltaic devices using an electrode of indium tin oxide (ITO) coated with a buffer layer of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) exposed to controlled humidity during fabrication showed a 65-75% decrease in efficiency and displayed S-shaped J-V curves, changes, which are attributed to different levels of indium and tin migration into the PEDOT:PSS film. A distinct shift in the secondary electron cut-off in the UV Photoelectron spectra (UPS) of ITO/PEDOT:PSS samples exposed to controlled humidity indicate an increase of the dipole at the ITO/PEDOT:PSS interface, which could explain the appearance of S-shaped J-V curves. Additionally, the electron density at low binding energies is reduced for the humidity exposed PEDOT:PSS suggesting a second mechanism for decreased device performance.     

The fabrication and characterization of organic photovoltaic microcell into the polymer membrane using template synthesis of conductive polymer

A method to construct a flexible photovoltaic cell using polymer membrane was tested, in which the photovoltaic microcells were fabricated into the micropores of the polymer membrane film. Poly(3-octylthiophene) (P3OT) was chosen as the donor compound to play the role of light absorber, while fullerene was used as the electron acceptor. Polymer formation methods into the micropores of the membrane were studied. Two types of photovoltaic microcells were prepared: bilayer heterojunction and bulk heterojunction. Their structures, morphology, and electrochemical behavior were analyzed in terms of their application for flexible solar cells. The membrane containing the microcells was sandwiched between indium tin oxide (ITO) and Al electrodes and the current–voltage characteristics were analyzed.     

Electrocatalytic oxidation of ethylene glycol and glycerol on nickel ion implanted-modified indium tin oxide electrode

The electrochemical behaviour of direct ethylene glycol and glycerol oxidation on a novel nickel ion implanted-modified indium tin oxide electrode (NiNPs/ITO) was investigated. The investigation is used to verify the feasibility of using the NiNPs/ITO electrode in the ethylene glycol and glycerol fuel cells. The size and morphology of nickel nanoparticles (NiNPs) on the substrate surface was determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The cyclic voltammetry (CV) technique was utilized to characterize the typical electrochemical behaviours of the NiNPs/ITO electrode. In alkaline medium (0.2 M NaOH), a good redox behaviour of Ni(III)/Ni(II) coupled at the surface of modified electrodes can be observed. Electrochemical performances were measured by current–time curve technology. We find that the NiNPs/ITO electrode exhibits a satisfactory electrocatalytic activity toward ethylene glycol and glycerol with good stability, making it a prime candidate for use in ethylene glycol and glycerol fuel cells.     

Ultra-thin metal layer passivation of the transparent conductive anode in organic solar cells

Efficiency of organic solar cells shows a strong improvement when the transparent conductive anode (indium tin oxide—ITO, aluminium-doped zinc oxide—AZO, fluorine-doped tin oxide—FTO), is covered with an ultra-thin metallic film. It is shown that the best results are achieved with a gold film (0.5 nm). The efficiency of the solar cells using AZO or FTO is improved up to one order of magnitude, while in the case of ITO it is at least 50%. It is shown that if the matching between the work function of the anode and the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of the organic electron donor is the most important factor limiting the hole transfer efficiency, others factors such as transparent conductive oxide (TCO) surface roughness and adhesion of the organic layer are also key factors.     

Nano-structured Cu2O solar cells fabricated on sparse ZnO nanorods

Nano-structured Cu₂O/ZnO nanorod (NR) heterojunction solar cells fabricated on indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated glass are studied. Substrate film and NR density have a strong influence on the preferred growth of the Cu₂O film. The X-ray diffractometer (XRD) analysis results show that highly (2 0 0)-preferred Cu₂O film was formed when plating on plain ITO substrate. However, a highly (1 1 1)-preferred Cu₂O film was obtained when plating on sparse ZnO NRs. SEM, TEM and XRD studies on sparse NR samples indicate that the Cu₂O nano-crystallites mostly initiate its nucleation on the peripheral surfaces of the ZnO NRs, and are also highly (1 1 1)-oriented. Solar cells with ZnO NRs yielded much higher efficiency than those without. In addition, ZnO NRs plated on a ZnO-coated ITO glass significantly improve the shunt resistance and open-circuit voltage (V_oc) of the devices, with consistently much higher efficiency obtained than when ZnO NRs are directly plated on ITO film. However, longer NRs do not improve the efficiency due to low short-circuit current (J_sc) and slightly higher series resistance. The best conversion efficiency of 0.56% was obtained from a Cu₂O/ZnO NRs heterojunction solar cell fabricated on a 80 nm ZnO-coated ITO glass with V_oc=0.514 V, J_sc=2.64 mA/cm² and 41.5% fill factor.