The Role of Ag/Al Electrodes in the Improvement of PEDOT:PSS/P3HT:PCBM Solar Cells Performance

In this work, polymer solar cells (PSCs) with the configuration of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/P3HT:PCBM/back electrode with different back electrodes of silver (Ag), aluminum (Al), and Ag/Al alloy with various weight percentages were investigated. Different electrodes were deposited at the same conditions using the thermal evaporation process on the P3HT:PCBM active layer. Moreover, the effect of different electrodes on the cell's performance was investigated. The electrical properties of components, such as ideality factor ( n ), inverse saturation current, turning- on voltage ( V t ), and mobility ( μ ), were evaluated using the J-V curves of the cells in the dark and irradiated conditions. The results showed that the use of Ag/Al alloys with higher Ag percentages as the back electrode reduced both series resistance ( R ss ) and the reverse saturation current, and increased both shunt resistance ( R sh ) and the mobility ( μ ). Furthermore, it increased the fill factor (FF) and power conversion efficiency (PCE) by improving the metal/polymer junction in these types of cells.