A Simple Interconnection Layer for Tandem Organic Solar Cells with Improved Efficiency and Fill Factor

We demonstrate a simple interconnection layer (ICL) that can be employed in tandem organic solar cells. An ICL with an optimized structure of Ca/Au/MoO₃ is used between two sub cells composed of identical regioregularpoly(3-hexylthiophen) (P3HT):6,6-phenyl C₆₁-butyric acid methylester (PCBM) photoactive layers. Power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.24% and fill factor (FF) of 68.0% are achieved with such an ICL under simulated sunlight (100 mW⋅cm⁻²). Compared with the best values of devices with ICLs of Ca/Al/MoO₃, PCE is improved by 68.9% and FF is improved by 15.5%. The improved performances are attributed to the optical and electrical balances in both sub cells. The presented ICL extracts free charges efficiently from both sub cells thereby suppressing the exaction recombination in each sub cell.