Printed Flexible Organic Photovoltaic Modules

Conjugated polymers have many properties which make them attractive for use in applications in the field of optoelectronics. Since organic and polymeric materials are generally solution processable organic devices can be fabricated by non-vacuum techniques, like various printing methods. Furthermore, use of flexible substrates enables roll-to-roll manufacturing with high throughput. Although organic solar cells have lower performance than their inorganic photovoltaics, their manufacturing by printing provides cost benefits. As printing is an additive technique, also consumption of materials and energy can be reduced. In this work, different roll-to-roll compatible printing techniques are used to produce organic photovoltaic (OPV) modules. The OPV modules are based on commercially available, well-known materials, like a blend of poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). The P3HT:PCBM blend is probably the most used material as an absorber in organic photovoltaic cells and modules. The R2R processed OPV modules consist of 8 serially connected cells and result in power conversion efficiencies and open circuit voltages close to 2 % and 5 volts, respectively. Organic PV modules produced with a process based fully on printing and non-vacuum coating techniques can provide energy and cost efficient options powering up portable electronic devices. They can be used as environmentally friendly alternative for disposable batteries used in consumer products.