Influence of the electron-vibration coupling on the interfacial charge transfer in organic solar cells: a simple quantum model

In this paper, we analyze the influence of the electron-vibration interaction on the charge transfer process at the donor-acceptor interface in an organic solar cell. We present an essentially exact numerical analysis for a minimal model with only one vibration mode which is coupled to the charge transfer state. We show that the charge transfer state can be hot or cold depending on the parameters and in particular on the value of the energy of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital on the donor side. We analyze also different regimes where electron-hole attraction or hybridization effects at the interface can modify the quantum yield of the transfer. We discuss also briefly the possible effects of the other vibration modes that are coupled to the charge either on the donor side or on the acceptor side.

Impact of electron-phonon coupling on the quantum yield of photovoltaic devices

In describing the charge carriers' separation mechanism in the organic solar cell, providing a method, which considers the impact of all parameters of interest on the same footing within an inexpensive numerical effort, could play an essential role. We use here a simple tight-binding model to describe the dissociation of the charge carriers and investigate their dependence on the physical parameters of the system. We demonstrate that the quantum yield of the cell is subtly controlled by the collective action of the Coulomb interaction of the electron-hole pair, electron-phonon coupling, and the geminate recombination of the charge carriers. This approach should help us understand the performance of organic solar cells and optimize their efficiency.

Interface Electrode Morphology Effect on Carrier Concentration and Trap Defect Density in an Organic Photovoltaic Device

Formation of Schottky barrier contact (SBC) leads reconstruction of charges at the metal/semiconductor (MS) interface because of the wave function overlap between semiconductor and metal contact. Not only is the Schottky barrier contact formation a signature of the material's work function, but also it is sensitive to the interface trap states, the crystal orientation of the interacting materials, and other interface properties. In this work, the effect of aluminum cathode morphology on the polymer Schottky diode and bulk heterojunction (BHJ) photovoltaic device performance is studied. The electron collecting contacts in Schottky diode and BHJ device have been deposited using aluminum in pellet and nanoparticle forms. Devices fabricated by using Al nanoparticle showed improvement in dark as well as photocurrent density. Significant enhancement in J_SC leads to overall improved power conversion efficiency. Enhanced performance in Schottky structured diode and OPV device have been correlated with electrode microstructure and its interface properties such as improved electrically active contact and enhanced charge transport. Electrical conductivity is discussed based on enhanced electrical coherence across organic semiconductor and electrode interface. Therefore, the contribution of electrical enhancement leads to improvement in short-circuit current density (J_SC) in BHJ solar cell which is due to reduced trap density. Further, PCE was correlated with the density of interface trap states studied by drive level capacitance profiling technique.