Efficient organic photovoltaic diodes based on doped pentacene

ABSTRACT Recent work on solar cells based on interpenetrating polymer networks1,2,3 and solid-state dye-sensitized devices4 shows that efficient solar-energy conversion is possible using

organic materials. Further, it has been demonstrated that the performance of photovoltaic devices based on small molecules can be effectively enhanced by doping the organic material with

electron-accepting molecules5. But as inorganic solar cells show much higher efficiencies, well above 15 per cent, the practical utility of organic-based cells will require their fabrication

by lower-cost techniques, ideally on flexible substrates. Here we demonstrate efficiency enhancement by molecular doping in Schottky-type photovoltaic diodes based on pentacene—an organic

semiconductor that has received much attention as a promising material for organic thin-film transistors6,7,8, but relatively little attention for use in photovoltaic devices9,10. The

incorporation of the dopant improves the internal quantum efficiency by more than five orders of magnitude and yields an external energy conversion efficiency as high as 2.4 per cent for a

standard solar spectrum. Thin-film devices based on doped pentacene therefore appear promising for the production of efficient ‘plastic’ solar cells. Access through your institution Buy or

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  Download references ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We thank E. Chandross, Z. Bao, H. Katz and A. Dodabalapur for helpful discussions. J.H.S. gratefully acknowledges financial support by the ‘Deutsche

Forschungsgemeinschaft’. AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, 600 Mountain Avenue, Murray Hill, 07974-0636, New Jersey, USA J. H. Schön, Ch.

Kloc, E. Bucher & B. Batlogg * University of Konstanz, Faculty for Physics, P.O. Box X916, Konstanz, D-78457, Germany J. H. Schön & E. Bucher Authors * J. H. Schön View author

publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Ch. Kloc View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * E. Bucher View

author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * B. Batlogg View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to J. H. Schön. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Schön, J., Kloc, C., Bucher, E. _et al._ Efficient

organic photovoltaic diodes based on doped pentacene. _Nature_ 403, 408–410 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35000172 Download citation * Received: 01 June 1999 * Accepted: 25 November 1999 *

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