Organic solar cells (OSCs) have gained a lot of popularity during the last 10 years since they are light weight, have a flexible structure and can be produced at low cost. These properties make OSCs promising candidates for cheap mass production as opposed to their commonly used inorganic counterparts.
OSCs have not yet been industrially implemented for energy production due to challenges in obtaining high power conversion efficiencies, but with the latest OSCs reaching efficiencies above 17 %, it is only a question of time before OSCs can be mass produced and implemented for cheap and sustainable energy production.
One main challenge that the current OSCs are facing is obtaining long-term device stability. The current OSCs are prone to degradation over short time, which makes them ineligible for mass production in their current state. More research in device stability of OSCs is therefore needed before mass production can become a reality. The implementation of sputter deposited metal oxide interlayers such as MoOx and TiOx as charge-selective transport layers in OSCs has shown a higher long-term stability and an overall better device performance. These metal oxides will be the focus of this PhD project.
The aim of the project is to develop sputtered MoOx and TiOx thin films for OSCs and study their detailed structure and properties using X-ray and neutron scattering at large-scale facilities. The degradation process will be studied upon subjecting the metal oxides to heat, light and oxygen and the electronic properties of the metal oxide interlayers will be studied using XPS and X-ray absorption. Device fabrication of OSCs containing the metal oxides will also be part of this project.
The project is a part of the SMART (Structure of Materials in Real Time) lighthouse consortium.
This project is conducted in collaboration with Aarhus University, Prof. Bo Brummerstedt (Head of the UFM ’SMART’ ESS lighthouse) and Paris-Sorbonne University, Prof. Nadine Witkowski.
PhD student: Mariam Ahmad
Supervisor: Morten Madsen