Conventional/Inorganic Photovoltaic cell Organic Photovoltaic cell

(IPV cell) (OPV cell)

1. An IPV cell is a type of solar cell where the 1. An OPV cell is a type of solar cell where
inorganic materials including crystalline, the absorbing layer is based on organic
multicrystalline, amorphous and semiconductors (OSC) or materials –
microcrystalline Si, the III-V compounds and typically either polymers or small molecules.
alloys, CdTe, and the chalcopyrite compound,
copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) are
used to make the photovoltaic cell.

2. Light absorption in IPV cells leads directly to 2. Light absorption in OPV cells leads to the
the creation of free electron-hole pairs. production of excitons (mobile excited
states).

3.IPV cells contain a p-n junction where 3.OPV cells contain donor and acceptor
electron-hole pairs contribute to the production layers where mobile exciton contributes to
of current. current generation.

4.Electron-hole pairs are generated 4. At first excitons are generated, diffused

immediately upon light absorption in IPV cells. and then after diffusion, positive and
negative charges are separated at the
interface.

5. Most of the IPV cells are costlier than OPV
cells and some have higher manufacturing cost.
But with time, they are getting affordable and
productivity is also increasing.
5.Combined with the flexibility of
organic molecules, organic solar cells are
potentially cost-effective for photovoltaic
applications that is they are cheap, resulting
in low production costs to fabricate a large
volume.

6. The optical absorption coefficient of inorganic 6.The optical absorption coefficient of

molecules is relatively lower than OPV cells. organic molecules is high, so a large amount
of light can be absorbed with a small
amount of materials.

7. IPV cells have better stability and strength at 7. OPV cells have lower stability at high
higher temperature. temperature and lower strength than
inorganic solar cells.

8. IPV cells cannot be used as small autonomous 8. Compared to silicon-based devices,

sensors due to their relatively higher weight. polymer solar cells are lightweight which is
important for small autonomous sensors.
 9. They have less possibility of degradation and 9.OPV cells experience substantial
are not susceptible to oxygen and water as OPV photochemical degradation and are very
cells. susceptible to oxygen and water
10. Power Conversion efficiency is higher. 10. They offer about 1/3 of the efficiency of
hard materials.

Question 02: Why power conversion efficiency is low for organic photovoltaic solar cells?
Answer: To produce electricity, the charge carriers have to cross the distance of active layer as
the cathode and anode are separated by that distance. But the charge carriers of organic solar
cells have low mobility and so there is an opportunity for electron-hole recombination before
reaching the cathode. Again, if the active layer thickness is higher, the charge carriers will have
to travel more distance resulting in higher rate of recombination. It leads to low power
conversion efficiency. That means the low charge mobility (high resistance) of organic
semiconductors obliges the device thickness to stay thin (Reduced active layer thickness). But
then, the wavelength of the incident light will be longer than film thickness which will cause
optical interference. This will reduce the light absorption capability of donor layer and
subsequently will have lower power to convert i.e. low power conversion efficiency.