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Organic Electronics

Organic Electronics
Facilities Organic Photovoltaics
Click here to see a video on How To Make An Organic Solar Cell by Ian Hancox and Stefan Schumann

Background
Solar energy is perhaps the most obvious renewable energy source and so largescale application of solar-cell technology for the production of energy for our future civilisation is a high priority a priority that becomes more significant as oil prices continue to rise and fossil fuel burning continues to degrade the global environment. The photovoltaic market today is dominated by silicon technology which suffers from high production cost related to its processing temperatures. A relatively immature but rapidly developing field is that of third generation photovoltaics based on organic semiconductor technology. This field is broad and covers cells constructed from polymeric hetrojunctions, small molecular weight materials, organic/inorganic hybrid cells and Dye-Sensitised Solar Cells (DSSCs).

hetrojunction organic solar cell operation

The basic operational mechanism for current generation in organic photovoltaics cells can be split into 4 steps and is highlighted in the diagram:

CSchematic energy level diagram of a typical bilayer device showing the operational mechanismin organic photovoltaic devices. a) Absorption of a photon, hv, in the active layer leading to the formation of an exciton which has a quantum efficiency, A.
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Organic Electronics

b) Diffusion of the exciton to an interface characteristed by a diffusion length, LD, the quantum efficiency for exciton diffusion is ED. c) The exciton most probably seperates at the interface between the two materials with offset energy levels with a quantum efficiency CT. d) Once seperated the charges must be collected at the respective electrodes by transporting through the organic layers with a mobility, , and has a quantum efficiency CC. The overall external quantum efficiency, the number of charges collected per incident photon, is thus: EQE = A ED CT CC.

General Enquiries: Telephone: +44 (0)24 76 523653 Fax: +44 (0)2476 524112 Address Department of C hemistry, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill, C oventry, C V4 7AL Map and Travel Directions Page contact: Nicola Beaumont

Admissions: Undergraduates: +44 (0)2476 523678 Master AS:MIT: +44 (0)2476 572970 Graduate PhD enrolment: +44 (0)2476 522230

Last revised: Tue 19 Mar 2013

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