Efficiency Amelioration of Novel PM6:D18:L8-BO Bulk Heterojunction Organic Solar Cell by 1D Binary Photonic Crystal Integration

Organic solar cells (OSCs) are a promising candidate for next-gen photovoltaic devices due to their numerous attractive features. Despite recent progress, the efficiency is still stuck at ~19.2%, restraining this technology from being widely available. This manuscript discusses the performance amelioration strategy obtained by incorporating functionally designed (Nb
2
O
5
/MgF
2
)
^N
one-dimensional photonic crystal (1D-PC) in bulk heterojunction (BHJ) OSC. Increasing the 1D-PC causes a narrower photonic bandgap and smaller refractive index difference, allowing light to reflect back into the SC at a wavelength that is similar to that absorbed by the PM6:D18:L8-BO. Using the Transfer Matrix Method (TMM) formalized optical simulation and a drift-diffusion-based electrical solver, the proposed BHJ organic thin-film photovoltaic cell with an In
2
O
3
:H/PEDOT:PSS/PM6:D18:L8-BO/AZO/((Nb
2
O
5
/MgF
2
)
^N
(1D-PC)) structure has been designed and analyzed. The electrical performance parameters (V
OC
, J
SC
, FF, and PCE) and optical properties (reflectance, transmittance) are compared between cells with and without 1D-PC obtained under the highest performance values. The integration of the champion (Nb
2
O
5
/MgF
2
)
³
1D-PC system to the BHJ-cell does not significantly alter V
OC
, but it does raise J
SC
from 20.92 mA/cm
²
to 23.97 mA/cm
²
, grows by 14.58%, and FF increases by 6.36% (87.63% to 93.20%). The observed improvement in J
SC
also leads to an increase in overall PCE, from 17.29% to 21.22%, an increase of 22.73%. Indeed, the efficiency amelioration technique disclosed herein is relevant to an immense audience and suggests the exciting potential and future advancement of cost-effective, efficient BHJ-OSC.