Abstract

Solar cell are the device who convert light energy into electrical energy. Usually light from sun is employed to generate electricity from such device named solar cell.

An organic solar cell or plastic solar cell are type of photovoltaic that uses organic electronics for absorb light and charge transport to produce electricity from sunlight by the photovoltaic effect.

History

•Was first introduced at Kodak research laboratory by Dr.Ching Tang in 1986.

•In 1977, Prof.AlanHeegar discovered conducting plastics.

Introduction

• Semiconductors are used to built Conventional Solar cells.

• For higher efficiency, usually mono-crystalline or poly-crystalline materials are needed.

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Motivation:

• Environmental hazards from other energy sources.

• Need for portable energy source.

Working Principle

• Conducting polymer like organic LED is used in PSC

Sunlight creates +ve & -ve charge at interference between polymer. This charges move to their respective poles, this poles works like battery & are powered by sun.

• Like within the semiconductors the electrons are excited by photons creating electron-hole pair

• Unlike within the semiconductors the electrons and the holes aren’t absolve to move. They form excitons and move together.

• Conjugated polymers are analogous to inorganic semiconductors.

• The overlap of atomic pi orbitals gives rise to delocalized bonding and antibonding pi orbital analogous to the valence band and conduction band.

• Energy gap between the bands is often 1.5 – 3 eV which lies within the range of the visible light.

• The paired charges split at the interface using electrodes of suitable work functions.

• Holes get collected at the high work function electrode and therefore electrons get collected at the low work function electrode.

A p-n junction.

• A depletion layer is formed when p-doped and n-doped semiconductors are brought together. The depletion layer sets up an electrical field. A charge in field experiences force which sweeps it to end of the depletion layer.

Action of Photons

• A electron-hole pair is formed when photon excites an electron from the valence band to conduction band. Within the depletion layer the excited electrons move towards n-type end while holes move to the p-type end.

• Thus external load is driven by flow of charges.

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Device Architectures

• Organic semiconductor, metal-insulator-metal tunnel diode are used among most simplest devices.

• The insulator may be a conjugated polymer.

• A more complex design uses 2 types of conducting polymers differing in electron affinities forming heterojunction.

When thin film polymer PV is applied to device, it allows charge in artificial light or natural light.

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Advantage:

•When compared to silicon PVs, polymers are much light in weight and much more flexible to use, making it easy to get required size, shape, and color.

•Less chances of damage and failure than traditional cells.

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Disadvantage:

• Lower efficiency rate

• Far faster degradation

• Impurities (eg. oxygen) trap the excitons.

Conclusion

•Plastic solar cells help in exploiting infrared light from suns rays. They can even work on cloudy days: major advantage. They’re more compact and less bulkier.

If solar farms come into daily practice, it may possibly solve the planets problem of depending and exploiting lot of fossil fuels, with added advantages & not even polluting environment.

Critical review of recent progress of flexible perovskite solar cells - ScienceDirect