Asymmetric photocurrent extraction in semitransparent laminated flexible organic solar cells

Abstract

Scalable production methods and low-cost materials with low embodied energy are key to success for organic solar cells. PEDOT(PSS) electrodes meet these criteria and allow for low-cost and all solution-processed solar cells. However, such devices are prone to shunting. In this work we introduce a roll-to-roll lamination method to construct semitransparent solar cells with a PEDOT(PSS) anode and an polyethyleneimine (PEI) modified PEDOT(PSS) cathode. We use the polymer:PCBM active layer coated on the electrodes as the lamination adhesive. Our lamination method efficiently eliminates any shunting. Extended exposure to ambient degrades the laminated devices, which manifests in a significantly reduced photocurrent extraction when the device is illuminated through the anode, despite the fact that the PEDOT(PSS) electrodes are optically equivalent. We show that degradation-induced electron traps lead to increased trap-assisted recombination at the anode side of the device. By limiting the exposure time to ambient during production, degradation is significantly reduced. We show that lamination using the active layer as the adhesive can result in device performance equal to that of conventional sequential coating.