The photovoltaic effect in thin organic layer based

structures

The study of photovoltaic effect in organic solar cells started in

1950, when a group of researchers reported photo-voltages of
~1V on thing organic layer based sandwich structures. The
results, in addition to the multiple possibilities for modificating the
chemical structure of organic structure of organic compounds, led
to increasing the interest in using them to create photovoltaic
devices. In the last decades, a huge progress has been made in
increasing the conversion efficiency from 10^(-5)% (in 1970) to
2% at the moment.

Due to the ease to be obtained and some electrical and

optical properties, thin organic layers are potential candidates in
the making of organic solar cells, but most importantly for
increasing the organic cells performance.

In this chapter, a synthesis of the progress recorded in

understanding the mechanism of photovoltaic effect in the thin
organic layer based structures, and some details on the obtaining
technology for obtaining organic cells will pe presented.

1. Particularities of the photovoltaic effect in thin layer

based structures made of organic semiconductors

Choosing the materials and the preparation technology for high

efficiency solar cells suppose knowing electrical and optical
properties of the material and the physical process used for the
photovoltaic effect to be realized . So, in this synthesis after
talking about the structures used in the making of the organic
cells, we analyze the processes of photo generation and
recombination of charge carriers, the mechanism of the
fotovoltaic effect, the theoretic models for explaining the spectral
characteristics, the efficency of conversion and the stability of
organic solar cells.

1.1 Types of structures used in the realization of organic

fotovoltaic cells

The first organic fotovoltaic cells were made using sandwich

structures M1/Semiconductor Organic (SO)/M2 where M1 is a thin
semitransparent layer from a metal with small extraction work
(Al,In...) which forms a blocking contact with So while having a
type p conduction. M2 also is a thin layer from a metal with a
higher extraction work (Ag, Au, Cu, ITO,...) . This is used for
forming an ohmic contact with SO-p. The organic material has to
be chosen so that it would lead to the most performant cells.
Usually, thin layers obtained from thermic evaporation of some
colorants from the families of porifrines, fitalocines and
merocianines in the vaccum method. This choice was determined
by the fact that :

a.) These compounds are cheap, easy to make and purify ,

mechanically speaking the thin layers obtained from thermic
evaporation in vaccum are very resistant, adherent to
support and stable chemicaly and phisically;
b.) From thermic evaporation on vaccum to low
evaporation temperatures (<400 C) we obtain amorphous,
policrystalic and crystalic layers, the planar strucure of
annular molecules allowing a certain orientation point in
solid phase;
c.)Porifirines are vividly coloured, especially the fitalocianines
which have huge absorption coeficients (~10 cm), in a
large interval of waves from the vizible domain of the solar
spectre;
d.) Their semiconductorous properties are well known {3,
11}. The conductivity of darkness can be easily modified
with a suitable dopping .
Despite these properties , this type of cells have low efficency as
low as 1%.

The most efficent organic cells were obtained based on some

structures where there is present a junction or a heterojunction p-
n at the interface between the interface of two thin organic
layers. With this procedure the efficency of 1% was obtained by
C.W.Tang on ITO/CuPcc/PV/Ag [10] cells and the efficency of 2%
(the highest efficency obtained until today) obtained by Y.Harima
and his colabs.[12].

Recently, an efficency of 0.7% in white light of 100 mW/cm was

obtained by M.Hiramoto and his colabs[13] on a triple stratified
organic cell.

While studying the multi stratified organic cells, mixed structures

formed from an organic and an anorganic layer [6-9, 14] were
tested. The conversion efficency in the case of these structures
was situated between 0,05-0,12%.

The chronological presentation of the registered progress in the

study of organic cells is shown in table 9.1. From this table we
can conclude that the rising rate of the conversion efficiency
increases by one order of magnitude every 2-3 years. This thing
was due to registered progresses in understanding the
mechanism who forms the junction between two chosen
elements, in the clarification of the generation and regeneration
process of charge carriers and in the explanation of the spectral
characteristics and the mechanism of the fotovoltaic effect.
However, a series of problems to clarify are still left. For example,
the problems with the doping process, the correlation between
the conversion efficiency and the molecular structure of organic
compounds . Further information about the stage of knowledge
about these processes can be found in the next pages.