Roll-to-roll embedded conductive structures integrated into organic photovoltaic devices

Highly conductive screen printed metallic (silver) structures (current collecting grids) combined with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) are a viable replacement for indium tin oxide (ITO) and inkjet printed silver as transparent electrode materials. To provide successful integration into organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices, screen printed silver current collecting grids should be embedded into a substrate to avoid topology issues. In this study micron-thick conductive structures are embedded and integrated into OPV devices. The embedded structures are produced roll-to-roll with optimized process settings and materials. Topology measurements show that the embedded grids are well suited for integration into OPV devices since the surface is almost without spikes and has low surface roughness. J V measurements of OPV devices with embedded structures on a polyethylene terephthalate/silicon nitride (PET/SiN) substrate show an efficienc...

H J van de Wiel, Y Galagan, T J van Lammeren, J F J de Riet, J Gilot, M G M Nagelkerke, R H C A T Lelieveld, S Shanmugam, A Pagudala, D Hui and W A Groen

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