Manufacture of light-trapping (LT) films by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation and their applications for polymer solar cells (PSCs)

Under ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, light trapping (LT) films (i.e. inverted pyramid and v-shaped LT films) have been successfully manufactured with a UV curable polymer by imprint technique and applied for polymer solar cells (PSCs). The experimental results reveal that the hazes of devices with inverted pyramid and v-shaped LT films are 59.6% and 87.0%, respectively and PSCs with higher hazes exhibit superior photoelectric conversion properties. In case of PSCs with v-shaped LT films (v-shaped LT films/ITO glass/PEDOT:PSS/P3HT:PCBM/LiF/Al), the short-circuit currents (Jsc) and efficiencies (η) can achieve respectively 8.52 mA/cm2 and 3.02% while Jsc and η of PSCs without LT films are 7.7 mA/cm2 and 2.69%, respectively.

► LT films have been manufactured with a UV curable polymer.
► PSCs with LT films exhibit better photoelectric conversion properties than those without LT films.
► The photoelectric conversion capabilities of PSCs depend on the hazes of LT films.