Dark Current Reduction of P3HT-Based Organic Photodiode Using a Ytterbium Fluoride Buffer Layer in Electron Transport

Photodiodes are widely used to convert lights into electrical signals. The conventional silicon (Si) based photodiodes boast high photoelectric conversion efficiency and detectivity. However, in general, inorganic-based photodiodes have low visible wavelength sensitivity due to their infrared wavelength absorption. Recently, electrical conducting polymer-based photodiodes have received significant attention due to their flexibility, low cost of production and high sensitivity of visible wavelength ranges. In the present work, we fabricated an organic photodiode (OPD) consisting of ITO/ NiOx/ P3HT:PC60BM/ YbF3/ Al. In the OPD, a yitterbium fluoride (YbF3) buffer layer was used as the electron transport layer. The OPD was analyzed for its optical-electrical measurements, including J-V characteristics, detectivity and dynamic characteristics. We have investigated the physical effects of the YbF3 buffer layer on the performance of OPD such as its carrier extraction, leakage current and ohmic characteristics.