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This paper presents a compact electrical equivalent circuit which describes the dark current-voltage characteristics of nonideal p-n junction solar cells in a wide range of temperatures. The model clearly separates the voltage drop in the junction and bulk regions. It is based on the combination of two exponential mechanisms, shunt and series resistances and space-charge limited current. In order to increase the accuracy of the parameter extraction process, both ln(I-V) and its derivative plots are fitted simultaneously. From the temperature dependence of the extracted parameters, the conduction mechanisms governing the I-V characteristics can be obtained without assuming dominating terms. In addition, the extracted parameters can be related to other electrical magnitudes obtained from such independent measurements as capacitance-voltage measurements (diffusion potential) and illuminated current-voltage characteristics (series resistance and open-circuit voltage). To exemplify the application, a p+ a-SiC:H/n c-Si solar cell is studied and a number of major physical aspects derived from the analysis of the fitting values are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performance losses and aging mechanisms are investigated in state-of-the-art PTB7:PC70BM solar cells. Inverted devices incorporating a vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) top contact have efficiencies of 8%. After aging the unencapsulated devices, no changes are observed in the open circuit voltage ( Voc) or short circuit current ( Jsc); however, the fill factor (FF) drops from 0.7 to 0.61. An s-shape initially appears in the J- V curve after aging, which can be reduced by cycling through the J- V curve under illumination. This is discussed in context of the redox properties of V2O5. With impedance spectroscopy, it is demonstrated that changes to the contact interfaces are completely reversible and not responsible for the performance loss. Intensity modulated photocurrent spectroscopy combined with device modeling reveals that the loss in FF is due to trap formation in the active layer. Additionally it is observed that the performance of pristine devices is limited by optical absorption in the thin active layer and the build-up of space charge which hinders carrier extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By means of finite-element numerical modeling, we analyze the influence of the nanostructured dissociation interface geometry on the behavior of interdigitated heterojunction full organic solar cells. A systematic analysis of light absorption, exciton diffusion, and carrier transport, all in the same numerical framework, is carried out to obtain their dependence on the interface geometrical parameters: pillar diameter and height, and nanostructure period. Cells are constituted of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and 1-(3-methoxycarbonyl)-propyl-1-phenyl-(6,6)C61. Results show that light absorption is maximum for pillar heights of 80 nm and 230 nm. However, due to the short exciton diffusion length of organic materials, the analysis of the exciton diffusion process reveals that the 80 nm thickness gives rise to a higher photocurrent, except for the smaller pillar diameters. In terms of efficiency, it has been observed that the charge carrier transport is weakly dependent on the geometric parameters of the nanostructured interface if compared with the exciton diffusion process. The optimal cell is a device with a pillar height of 80 nm, a structure period of 25 nm, and a ratio of the nanopillar diameter to the period of 0.75, with an efficiency 3.6 times higher than the best planar bilayer reference device. This structure is such that it reaches a compromise between having a high proportion of P3HT to increase light absorption but preserving a small pillar diameter and interpillar distance to ensure an extended exciton dissociation interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanisms limiting the dark current in pentacene (Pc)/C60 solar cell were determined using the temperature dependence of the current-density-voltage characteristics. Our analysis allowed us to calculate the effective barrier height for electrons and holes at the interface. We then determined the built-in potential of the heterojunction and the effective doping concentration of the active layers, using capacitance-voltage characteristics. These physical parameters were used to simulate a band-energy diagram for a Pc/C60 solar cell in equilibrium. Finally, we determined a relation between the effective barrier height and the built-in potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]