New concepts of nano-crystalline organic photovoltaic devices

The working principle of a nano-crystalline dye sensitized solar cell (nc-DSC) of the Gratzel type depends on a working cycle consisting of dye excitation, electron injection into titanium dioxide and fast reduction of the oxidized dye by a redox couple. Continuous stability testing at Solaronix on glass/glass thermoplastic sealed nc-DSC devices, revealed that no significant degradation of the cell working cycle occurred over a period of 10,000 hours of illumination. New design concepts of low and high power applications, introduced to conform with market requirements, have resulted in the world's first working nc-DSC plastic cell. A new sealing and interconnection technique is introduced which is suitable for nc-DSC high power applications.