This work is part of the inter-laboratory collaboration to study the stability of seven distinct sets of state-of-the-art organic photovoltaic (OPVs) devices prepared by leading research laboratories. All devices have been shipped to and degraded at the Danish Technical University (DTU, formerly RISO-DTU) up to 1830 hours in accordance with established ISOS-3 protocols under defined illumination conditions. In this work we present a summary of the degradation response observed for the NREL sample, an inverted OPV of the type ITO/ZnO/P3HT:PCBM/PEDOT:PSS/Ag/Al, under full sun stability test. The results reported from the combination of the different characterization techniques results in a proposed degradation mechanism. The final conclusion is that the failure of the photovoltaic response of the device is mainly due to the degradation of the electrodes and not to the active materials of the solar cell.
Seven distinct sets (n ≥ 12) of state of the art organic photovoltaic devices were prepared by leading research laboratories in a collaboration
planned at the Third International Summit on Organic Photovoltaic Stability (ISOS-3). All devices were shipped to DTU and characterized
simultaneously up to 1830 h in accordance with established ISOS-3 protocols under three distinct illumination conditions: accelerated full sun
simulation; low level indoor fluorescent lighting; and dark storage with daily measurement under full sun simulation. Three nominally
identical devices were used in each experiment both to provide an assessment of the homogeneity of the samples and to distribute samples for
a variety of post soaking analytical measurements at six distinct laboratories enabling comparison at various stages in the degradation of the
devices. Characterization includes current-voltage curves, light beam induced current (LBIC) imaging, dark lock-in thermography (DLIT),
photoluminescence (PL), electroluminescence (EL), in situ incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE), time of flight secondary
ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS), cross sectional electron microscopy (SEM), UV visible spectroscopy, fluorescence microscopy, and
atomic force microscopy (AFM). Over 100 devices with more than 300 cells were used in the study. We present here design of the device
sets, results both on individual devices and uniformity of device sets from the wide range of characterization methods applied at different
stages of aging under the three illumination conditions. We will discuss how these data can help elucidate the degradation mechanisms as well
as the benefits and challenges associated with the unprecedented size of the collaboration.
The work focuses on the degradation of performance induced by both water and oxygen in an inverted geometry organic photovoltaic device with emphasis on the accumulated barrier effect of the layers comprising the layer stack. By studying the exchange of oxygen in the zinc oxide (ZnO) layer, the barrier effect is reported in both a dry oxygen atmosphere and an oxygen-free humid atmosphere. The devices under study are comprised of a bulk heterojunction formed by poly(3-hexylthiophene) and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester sandwiched between a layer of zinc oxide (electron transporting layer) and a layer of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate) (hole transport layer) and the two electrodes indium tin oxide and silver. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry is employed to characterize the accumulated barrier effect. A pronounced barrier effect is observed in the humid atmosphere, correlating well with a long observed lifetime in the same atmosphere
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.