A hybrid solar cell fabricated using amorphous silicon and a fullerene derivative.

ABSTRACT

Hybrid solar cells, based on organic and inorganic semiconductors, are a promising way to enhance the efficiency of solar cells because they make better use of the solar spectrum and are straightforward to fabricate. We report on a new hybrid solar cell comprised of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-SiH), [6,6]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester ([71]PCBM), and poly-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene poly styrenesulfonate (PEDOTPSS). The properties of these PEDOTPSS/a-SiH/[71]PCBM devices were studied as a function of the thickness of the a-SiH layer. It was observed that the open circuit voltage and the short circuit current density of the device depended on the thickness of the a-SiH layer. Under simulated one sun AM 1.5 global illumination (100 mW cm(-2)), a power conversion efficiency of 2.84% was achieved in a device comprised of a 274 nm-thick layer of a-SiH; this is the best performance achieved to date for a hybrid solar cell made of amorphous Si and organic materials.