Photovoltaic Properties of Evaporated Poly(p-phenylene sulfide)

Abstract

Photovoltaic properties of MIM(metal-insulator-metal) type cells fabricated by copper(Cu), poly(p-phenylene sulfide) (PPS) and aluminum (Al) were studied. It is possible to evaporate PPS on a substrate by heating it at temperature above 350°C. The thickness of evaporated films, in the range from 500 to 1500Å, was controlled by the evaporation time and temperature. The MIM cells thus obtained showed a rectification effect in the dark as well as a photovoltaic effect under the illumination of light. The power conversion efficiency obtained was 0.12% for monochromatic light at 300 nm. These behaviors are explained by the formation of Schottky barrier on the surface between Al and PPS. In order to characterize the barrier states, the capacitance of the cell under various bias fields was measured by using a low frequency oscillographic method, and the 1/C² vs. V plots showed a linear relation, which implies the presence of the depletion layer.