Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 1
Introduction to Organic Solar Cells
Dixon D. S. Fung and Wallace C. H. Choy
Abstract Organic solar cells (OSCs) have attracted strong attention in recent
years, due to the advantages of flexibility, thinness, and simple manufacturing
process. In this chapter, we overview the basics of OSCs. The basics of organic
semiconductors are first described. We then provide details of the four steps in the
operation principles of OSCs, including exciton generation, exciton diffusion,
exciton dissociation, and charge collection. The basic architecture of OSC and the
methods of characterization of OSCs are also explained. This chapter provides the
fundamentals of OSCs to facilitate understanding of more advanced topics.
1.1 Introduction
Since the discovery of high conductivity in perylene-iodine complex in 1954,
organic semiconductors have been under intense research [
1
]. Potential applica-
tions of organic semiconductors emerged when Tang et al. demonstrated the first
OLED in the 1970s [
2
]. With the unique properties of organic semiconductors of
flexibility, thinness, and simple fabrication process, OLEDs have spawned a
unique industry of flexible and ultra-thin displays. OLEDs have already been
adopted in commercial applications such as small OLED displays on mobile
appliances, and large area displays such as televisions are receiving more atten-
tion. Other than OLEDs, another important application of organic semiconductors
is organic solar cells (OSCs). In contrast to OLEDs, OSCs make use of organic
