Efficiency enhancement in large-area organic photovoltaic module using theoretical power loss model

For efficiency enhancement of a large-area monolithic organic photovoltaic (OPV) module, we studied the influence of the OPV cell geometry parameters using theoretical and experimental methods. For this work, a unit OPV cell as a reference device and four types of monolithic OPV module with different active cell lengths were fabricated together on a glass substrate. The characteristics of the fabricated unit OPV cell were measured and the voltage (Vmp) and current density (Jmp) at the maximum power point were extracted. The parasitic power losses were calculated from the extracted parameters and the material parameters using a theoretical power loss model, taking into consideration the series resistance, contact resistance, and shading (or dead area) losses at the calculated maximum power of the monolithic OPV module. To analyze the influence of OPV cell layout on efficiency of the large-area monolithic OPV module, the power conversion efficiency of the four type monolithic OPV modules with different active cell lengths was measured and compared with the calculated power conversion efficiency. The calculated PCE ratio of the monolithic OPV module with three cells was approximately 78%, and the measured PCE ratio of the fabricated monolithic OPV module with three cells was also approximately 78%. The measured PCE ratio of fabricated monolithic OPV modules with two, four, and five cells also exhibited this tendency for the calculated PCE ratio. Thus, a large-area monolithic OPV module with optimum electrical power loss and an appropriate number of OPV cells can be designed by extracting the parameters of the unit OPV cell and calculating the electrical power loss using the proposed theoretical power loss model.

Graphical abstractThe measured PCE of OPV modules showed the same tendency as that of the theoretical model. This work shows that the appropriate design of a large-area monolithic OPV module can be accomplished by calculating the theoretical power loss.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► Influence of cell geometry on PCE of a large-area OPV module. ► Theoretical model and experimental methods were used to investigate the influence. ► Measured PCE of OPV modules showed the same tendency as that of the theoretical model. ► Meaningful to enhance the performance of a large-area monolithic OPV module. ► A method to design a high-efficiency large-area OPV module.