STTR Phase I: Control of the Nanostructure of Organic Photovoltaic Films by Interdiffusion

Luna Innovations, Incorporated, Blacksburg VA

Investigators

Abstract

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project will demonstrate a new approach to optimize thin film photovoltaic device fabrication. The requirements for the efficient conversion of solar radiation to light are a challenge to modern solid state physics and engineering. The task is to provide conversion elements, which are efficient, cheap, and long-lived in order to compete with sources of electric energy which exploit non-regenerative resources of our planet. Organic solid state devices offer several advantages which make them highly interesting for this area of scientific research and commercial development: (1) tunability of the absorption properties, (2) low cost of production due to the ease of fabrication and low costs for the raw materials, (3) mechanical flexibility. One could produce 10,000 m2 of active solar panels with a film thickness of the organic active layer of 100 nm using only 1 kg of organic material. Luna proposes to use an interdiffusion process to fabricate thin film, organic photovoltaic devices that are characterized electrically and optically during the fabrication step. This unprecedented, new approach allows one to optimize device performance during fabrication and to resolve the kinetics of the chemical and physical processes which take place during the interdiffusion of two species of organic molecules. Thin film photodiodes and solar cells have immediate application in various commercial areas for inexpensive, large area, flexible optical detection and energy conversion devices in optical communications, household appliances, and commercial electronics.