Developing an Analytical Model for Charge Transport in Organic Solar Cells through Simulation of Photocurrent

Date

2021-07-02

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Abstract

In order to develop next-generation solar cells with higher efficiency, it is important to use charge transport mechanism in a Current-Voltage (IV) model of solar cells. Therefore, we are working on developing an analytical model for current in solar cells in which the charge transport is typically governed by traps. The devices we focus on are planar bilayer organic semiconductor solar cells, and aspects of our model have the possibility of extending to other general devices with bilayer semiconductors, including diodes and transistors. The analytical model was previously developed based on experimental work, focusing on the dark current of the solar cell. This thesis will present how we use simulation to further validate and improve our analytical model. I will introduce the basic principles of the simulation software, GPVDM, which allows us to simulate current and extract useful parameters of solar cells. Through simulation, we determine methods of correcting for series resistance and extracting the compensation voltage. We then create a new analytical equation for photocurrent, allowing us to fit the photocurrent and extract the compensation voltage. We show that this compensation voltage is proportional to the energy difference at the donor/acceptor interface. While we extended our analytical model to include photocurrent, we also identified a number of open questions and next steps to follow to continue improving and validating the model.

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Keywords

Solar Cells, Physics, Photocurrent, Transport Mechanism

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