Electrically Detected Magnetic Resonance of Polymer:Fullerene Solar Cells

Stuart A. J. Thomson^a, Ifor D. W. Samuel^a, David J. Keeble^b, Stephen C. Hogg^b

^aOrganic Semiconductor Centre, SUPA, School of Physics & Astronomy, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9SS

^bDivision of Physics, SUPA, School of Engineering, Physics & Mathematics, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD14HN

International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics
Proceedings of International Conference on Hybrid and Organic Photovoltaics 2015 (HOPV15)

Roma, Italy, 2015 May 11th - 13th

Organizer: Filippo De Angelis

Poster, Stuart A. J. Thomson, 384
Publication date: 5th February 2015

Organic solar cells have the potential advantages of low-cost, flexibility and high throughput production. However at present photovoltaic efficiencies are lower than those of other thin film technologies. We investigated polymer:fullerene bulk heterojunction solar cells using electron paramagnetic resonance techniques to probe the spin dependent mechanisms that occur during solar cell operation. Due to low spin volumes, conventional EPR lacks the sensitivity to investigate thin film devices. Electrically detected magnetic resonance (EDMR) can be many orders of magnitude more sensitive than conventional EPR and detects paramagnetic species by the change in transport current through a device [1]. Only those spin dependent processes which contribute to the current are detected, such as spin-dependent recombination or hopping transport, which makes EDMR highly selective to processes relevant to the operation of the solar cell. CW and pulsed EDMR measurements have been performed on bulk heterojunction solar cells comprising of Poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) with [6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PC₆₁BM) and polythieno[3,4-b]-thiophene-co-benzodithiophene (PTB7) with [6,6]-phenyl C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC₇₁BM). Through the EDMR measurements an insight into the nature of the spin dependent transport in the materials was obtained.

[1] Boehme, C.; Lips, K. Electrical detection of spin coherence in silicon, Phys. Rev. Lett. 2003, 91, 246603

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