Self-Organized Large-Scale Integration of Mesoscale-Ordered Heterojunctions for Process-Intensified Photovoltaics

Self-organization of large-area micro- or nanoscale patterns, using an inexpensive one-step process, is proposed for the fabrication of low-cost, high-performance organic solar cells. The authors employ spin dewetting of a conductive polymer to fabricate an array of micro- to nanoscale ordered heterojunctions, and demonstrate improvements in the key performance indicators of the resulting organic photovoltaic devices. A theoretical study with appropriate boundary conditions is carried out to understand the pattern formation, and simulations are performed to probe the effects of varying active-layer geometry on device characteristics.