<i>In situ</i> monitoring the drying kinetics of knife coated polymer-fullerene films for organic solar cells

Schmidt‐Hansberg, Benjamin; Klein, Michael F. G.; Peters, K.; Buss, Felix; Pfeifer, J.; Walheim, Stefan; Colsmann, Alexander; Lemmer, Uli; Scharfer, Philip; Schabel, Wilhelm

doi:10.1063/1.3270402

Cited by 85 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…9 One of the most popular methods is white-light/laser reflectometry, using which the evolution of drying film thickness can be determined. 7,8,[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] Instead of reflectometry, some investigations have employed spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), which is more sensitive to sub-nanometer regions, allowing the user to probe final stages of thin film drying. [19][20][21] Additionally, laser light and X-ray scattering techniques are used either as stand-alone methods or in combination with other optical methods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…during the drying process. 7,8 Therefore, gaining knowledge over the drying properties of polymer/fullerene thin films and correlating this information with the performance of lab-scale BHJs are essential in order to design better performing organic photovoltaic devices and transfer the manufacture protocols to large scale production. Over the past decade, a considerable amount of in situ characterization methods has been used to study drying dynamics and microstructure evolution of BHJs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Real-time evaluation of thin film drying kinetics using an advanced, multi-probe optical setup

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

a Solution-processed organic photovoltaic devices are advantageous due to their low-cost large area manufacturing techniques, such as slot-die coating, gravure printing and roll-to-roll coating. The final microstructure of a polymer:fullerene bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) film is a fine interplay between solution thermodynamics (e.g. solubility, miscibility. . .) and kinetics (e.g. solvent evaporation, polymer ordering, phase separation. . .) during the drying process. In order to design better performing organic photovoltaic devices, gaining knowledge over the drying properties of polymer:fullerene thin films is essential.A novel in situ thin film drying characterization chamber, equipped with white-light reflectometry, laser light scattering and photoluminescence, is presented in combination with grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction on two different polymer:fullerene bulk heterojunctions based on poly-(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) and polythieno [3,2b]thiophene-diketopyrrolopyrrole-co-thiophene (DPP-TT-T) polymers.With photoluminescence applied for the first time as an in situ method for such drying studies, these single-chamber measurements track the fine interplay between thermodynamics and kinetics of thin film drying and provide invaluable information on solution behavior and microstructure formation.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Real-time evaluation of thin film drying kinetics using an advanced, multi-probe optical setup

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Investigations made by in situ light scattering during the typically five seconds of film formation give insight into the structure formation process [1]. An example of derivatives of these structures are bio-functionalizable structures with laterally defined spots of only 10 nm in diameter which are fabricated by the combination of polymer blend lithography and block copolymer nanolithography.…”

Section: Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positioning, Structuring and Controlling with Nanoprecision

Hedderich

Heiler

Gröger

et al. 2010

Precision Assembly Technologies and Systems

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Key industries such as the automotive, electronic, medical and laboratory technical industries have continually rising demands for precise manufacturing, handling and control techniques. This is true for the manufacture of injection nozzles for engines as indeed also for the irradiation of extremely fine wafer structures and in the field of scanning probe microscopy. Some examples from research and their industrial application which have been made available by NanoMat Network Partners will be highlighted in this presentation. For example the spontaneous structure formation at the nanoscale and the application as anti-reflection layers.

show abstract

“…During the drying process the final morphology evolves and the kinetics during this process together with the solubility of the species determines the final morphology that may end up in a phase separated, finely intermixed or intermediate nanostructure. The final morphology are mainly determined by the solvent [62][63][64] or solvent blend [63,65], surface energy [64], temperature and drying kinetics [66,67].…”

Section: N O N Eomentioning

confidence: 99%

Optoelectrical Imaging Methods for Organic Photovoltaic Materials and Moduls

Bergqvist¹

2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Linköping 2015 IICover image: LED array based photocurrent imaging method for in-line characterization of printed organic solar cells developed during the course of this thesis. Illustration by Cecilia Kornehed.During the course of research underlying this thesis, Jonas Bergqvist was enrolled in Agora Materiae, a multidisciplinary doctoral program at Linköping University, Sweden. III AbstractTo achieve a high living standard for all people on Earth access to low cost energy is essential. The massive burning of fossil fuels must be drastically reduced if we are to avoid large changes of our climate. Solar cells are both technologically mature and have the potential to meet the huge demand for renewable energy in many countries. The prices for silicon solar cells have decreased rapidly during the course of this thesis and are now in grid parity in many countries.However, the potential for even lower energy costs has driven the research on polymer solar cells, a class of thin film solar cells. Polymer solar cells can be produced by roll to roll printing which potentially enables truly low cost solar cells. However, much research and development remain to reach that target.Polymer solar cells consist of a semiconducting composite material sandwiched between two electrodes, of which one is transparent, to let the light energy in to the semiconductor where it is converted to electric energy. The semiconductor comprise an intimate blend of polymer and fullerenes, where the nanostructure of this blend is crucial for the photo current extraction.To reach higher solar cell performance the dominating strategy is development and fine tuning of new polymers. To estimate their potential as solar cell materials their optical response have been determined by spectroscopic ellipsometry. Furthermore, optical simulations have been performed where the direction dependency of the optical response of the transparent electrode material PEDOT:PSS have been accounted for. The simulations show reduced electrode losses for light incident at large oblique angles.Moreover, we have shown that a gentle annealing of the active layer induces a local conformational changes of an amorphous polymer that is beneficial for solar cell performance. The active layer is deposited from solution where the drying kinetics determine the final nanostructure. We have shown that using in-situ photoluminescence phase separation can be detected during the drying process while a reflectance method have been developed to image lateral variations of solvent evaporation rate.Imaging methods are important tools to detect performance variations over the solar cell area. For this purpose an intermodulation based photo current imaging method have been developed to qualitatively differentiate the major photo current loss mechanisms. In addition, a 1D LED-array photo current imaging method have been developed and verified for high speed in-line characterization of printed organic solar modules. IV Populärvetenskaplig sammanfattningFör att uppnå en hög levnadsstandard för...

show abstract

In situ monitoring the drying kinetics of knife coated polymer-fullerene films for organic solar cells

Cited by 85 publications

References 30 publications

Real-time evaluation of thin film drying kinetics using an advanced, multi-probe optical setup

Real-time evaluation of thin film drying kinetics using an advanced, multi-probe optical setup

Positioning, Structuring and Controlling with Nanoprecision

Optoelectrical Imaging Methods for Organic Photovoltaic Materials and Moduls

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About