Gravure printed flexible organic photovoltaic modules

In this letter, organic solar cell modules based on poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT) and [6.6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) blend films with a module active area of 15.45 cm2 prepared by roll-to-roll (R2R) compatible gravure printing method are demonstrated. The gravure printed organic photovoltaic modules consist of eight serially connected solar cells in same substrate. Indium-tin-oxide (ITO) is patterned by screen printable etching paste. Hole injection layer and active layer are prepared by gravure printing method. All processing steps excluding cathode evaporation are performed in air. Electrical measurements are done to modules consisting of 5–8 serially connected solar cells. The photovoltaic modules comprising 5, 7 and 8 serially connected cells exhibit an active area power conversion efficiency of 1.92%, 1.79% and 1.68%, respectively (Oriel Sol3A Class AAA, AM1.5G, 100 mW cm−2).

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► We examine gravure printing as a processing method for organic solar cell modules.
► Width of 1 cm in ITO anode (60Ωsquare−1) leads to 30% reduction in produced power.
► Active area efficiency of 1.68% reached with eight cells containing gravure printed module.