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Title: Ag-Pd-Cu alloy inserted transparent indium tin oxide electrodes for organic solar cells

Journal Article · · Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. A, Vacuum, Surfaces and Films
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1116/1.4891560· OSTI ID:22318039
; ;  [1]; ;  [2]
  1. Department of Advanced Materials Engineering for Information and Electronics, Kyung-Hee University, 1 Seocheon-dong, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do 446-701 (Korea, Republic of)
  2. Graduate School of Flexible and Printable Electronics, Chonbuk National University, 664-14, Deokjin-dong, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do 561-756 (Korea, Republic of)

The authors report on the characteristics of Ag-Pd-Cu (APC) alloy-inserted indium tin oxide (ITO) films sputtered on a glass substrate at room temperature for application as transparent anodes in organic solar cells (OSCs). The effect of the APC interlayer thickness on the electrical, optical, structural, and morphological properties of the ITO/APC/ITO multilayer were investigated and compared to those of ITO/Ag/ITO multilayer electrodes. At the optimized APC thickness of 8 nm, the ITO/APC/ITO multilayer exhibited a resistivity of 8.55 × 10{sup −5} Ω cm, an optical transmittance of 82.63%, and a figure-of-merit value of 13.54 × 10{sup −3} Ω{sup −1}, comparable to those of the ITO/Ag/ITO multilayer. Unlike the ITO/Ag/ITO multilayer, agglomeration of the metal interlayer was effectively relieved with APC interlayer due to existence of Pd and Cu elements in the thin region of the APC interlayer. The OSCs fabricated on the ITO/APC/ITO multilayer showed higher power conversion efficiency than that of OSCs prepared on the ITO/Ag/ITO multilayer below 10 nm due to the flatness of the APC layer. The improved performance of the OSCs with ITO/APC/ITO multilayer electrodes indicates that the APC alloy interlayer prevents the agglomeration of the Ag-based metal interlayer and can decrease the thickness of the metal interlayer in the oxide-metal-oxide multilayer of high-performance OSCs.

OSTI ID:
22318039
Journal Information:
Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. A, Vacuum, Surfaces and Films, Vol. 32, Issue 5; Other Information: (c) 2014 American Vacuum Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0734-2101
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English