Poly(3-hexylthiophene) films by electrospray deposition for crystalline silicon/organic hybrid junction solar cells

The electrospray deposition (ESD) of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and conductive poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) on P3HT for use in crystalline silicon/organic hybrid heterojunction solar cells on CZ crystalline silicon (c-Si) (100) wafer was investigated using real-time characterization by spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE). In contrast to the nonuniform deposition of products frequently obtained by conventional spin-coating, a uniform deposition of P3HT and PEDOT:PSS films were achieved on flat and textured hydrophobic c-Si(100) wafers by adjusting the deposition conditions. The c-Si/P3HT/PEDOT:PSS heterojunction solar cells exhibited efficiencies of 4.1 and 6.3% on flat and textured c-Si(100) wafers, respectively. These findings suggest that ESD is a promising method for the uniform deposition of P3HT and PEDOT: PSS films on flat and textured hydrophobic substrates. (C) 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim