Effect of thickness and temperature on flexible organic P3HT:PCBM solar cell performance

A blend of poly 3-hexylthiophene (P3HT) and [6, 6]-phenyl-C-61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) is used as a photoactive layer for simulating a bulk heterojunction organic solar using general-purpose photovoltaic device model (GPVDM) software. The optical and electrical performance of the cell had been analyzed by changing the thickness of each layer and substrate material over a range of operating temperatures from -10 degrees C to - 40 degrees C. The flexible device exhibits higher PCE compared to a rigid device. The performance of the device was studied using transient simulation at different operating temperatures showing degradation in overall performance while enhancing the de-trapping of charge carrier and the recombination rate. Despite the increase in the number of absorbed photons while increasing the active layer thickness to 300 nm, a successful conversion of photon energy to electrical energy is not possible at higher thickness. The electrical simulation showed that a maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) can be achieved with 220 nm thick active layer while decreasing the thickness of ITO and PEDOT: PSS layers due to minimization of optical losses.

Automated summary

A bulk heterojunction organic solar cell using a blend of P3HT and PCBM as the photoactive layer was simulated, showing varying optical and electrical performance at different operating temperatures with better efficiency in flexible devices. The study also revealed that a maximum power conversion efficiency is achieved with a 220 nm thick active layer and reducing the thickness of ITO and PEDOT: PSS layers can minimize optical losses.