An inter-laboratory stability study of roll-to-roll coated flexible polymer solar modules

Abstract

A large number of flexible polymer solar modules comprising 16 serially connected individual cells was prepared at the experimental workshop at Risø DTU. The photoactive layer was prepared from several varieties of P3HT (Merck, Plextronics, BASF and Risø DTU) and two varieties of ZnO (nanoparticulate, thin film) were employed as electron transport layers. The devices were all tested at Risø DTU and the functional devices were subjected to an inter-laboratory study involving the performance and the stability of modules over time in the dark, under light soaking and outdoor conditions. 24 laboratories from 10 countries and across four different continents were involved in the studies. The reported results allowed for analysis of the variability between different groups in performing lifetime studies as well as performing a comparison of different testing procedures. These studies constitute the first steps toward establishing standard procedures for an OPV lifetime charac terization

Improvement in the Lifetime of Planar Organic Photovoltaic Cells through the Introduction of MoO3 into Their Cathode Buffer Layers

“…We varied the thickness of the Alq 3 /MoO 3 couple from 9 nm/0 nm to 2 nm/7 nm, with intermediary values of 6 nm/3 nm and 3 nm/6 nm. The lifetime of the OPVCs was studied through the protocol proposed in ref [15]. Following this protocol, the procedure used to study the aging process of our OPV cells corresponds to the intermediate level labeled "Level 2" The operational lifetimes have been measured under AM1.5, in air and at room temperature.…”

Roll‐to‐Roll fabrication of large area functional organic materials

“…The first three layers (ZnO, active layer, and PEDOT:PSS) were processed using slot-die coating, and finally a silver back electrode was slot-die coated or flat bed screen printed to finalize the stack before it was laminated. Since then, numerous productions of solar cells and modules based on this method have been published, [20][21][22][23][24][25][26] and solar modules produced according to this have been used in interlaboratory studies, 86,87 round robins, 88,89 and in demonstrators of various kinds that have mostly involved sound, light, or in one case a laser (see Fig. 6).…”

Flexible organic tandem solar modules with 6% efficiency: combining roll-to-roll compatible processing with high geometric fill factors

“…[4][5][6][7] The combination of these characteristics makes OPVs ideally suited for targeting niche markets that are incompatible with brittle semiconductors, e.g., off-grid portable charging, electronics in apparel and smart labels, as well as building and car integrated photovoltaics for non-planar surfaces, 8,9 while simultaneously enabling production scale-up through roll-to-roll device fabrication.…”