Extraction of bulk and contact components of the series resistance in organic bulk donor-acceptor-heterojunctions

Basic solar cell characteristics are examined in bulk donor-acceptor-heterojunction devices. Therefore, spin-coated organic blends of poly(2-methoxy-5-(3',7'-dimethyloctyloxy)-1,4-phenylene-vinylene) (MDMO-PPV) and (6,6)-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) are used as active material sandwiched between a transparent IndiumTinOxide (ITO)-electrode and an Al backside contact. A comparison is made between cells with or without an extra interfacial layer of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophe ne) /poly (styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT/PSS) on top of the ITO-electrode. Furthermore, the effect of the thickness of the active layer on the photovoltaic performance of the devices is studied. It is seen that applying this extra PEDOT/ PSS layer results in an important increase of the contact component of the series resistance of the cells. At the same time, open circuit voltage improved for devices with an interfacial layer while the fill factor was higher for cells with no PEDOT/PSS film. For thinner active layers, in both cases the bulk component of the series resistance decreased. Nevertheless, a decrease of short circuit current is seen at reduced illumination. Shunt resistance shows a slight increase resulting in an improvement of open circuit voltage. Also, the fill factor increases for thinner active layers. For the thinnest standard devices a power conversion efficiency of over 3% could be measured under AM1.5 conditions. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.