Organic solar cells: Fundamentals, devices, and upscaling

Organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells have the potential to make a significant contribution to the increasing energy needs of the future. Performance, lifetime, and cost have improved quickly in recent years and are progressively approaching market requirements while fast and inexpensive roll-to-roll deposition technologies allowing also for the use of flexible substrates are expected to enable the necessary manufacturing capability. This book explores the required characteristics of the components present in an OPV device, such as transparent electrodes, electron- and hole-conducting layers, as well as electron donor and -acceptor materials. It discusses the design, preparation, and evaluation of these materials targeting the highest performance. This includes contributions on modeling down to the molecular level to device-level electrical and optical testing and modeling, as well as layer morphology control and characterization. Taking into account the necessity to optimize many interdependent parameters, the text describes the integration of various components using existing as well as innovative device architectures suitable for mass production. Finally, it assesses the technical feasibility and economic viability of the large-scale manufacture of materials and resulting devices.