Development of Environmentally Controlled Desktop Spray Coater and Optimization of Deposition Conditions for Organic Thin-film Photovoltaic Cells

Abstract

Organic thin-film photovoltaic cells (OPV) consisting of poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) and phenyl-C₆₁-butyric-acid-methyl ester (PCBM) were deposited with our developed desktop spray coater, rCoater. Organic thin films were deposited using two different spray nozzles: a two-fluid spray nozzle and a rotary-atomizing spray nozzle. The deposition conditions were optimized and the photovoltaic (PV) characteristics were measured. OPVs deposited using the two-fluid spray nozzle under optimized conditions exhibited better PV performance than those deposited using a spin coat method. The organic thin films fabricated using the two-fluid spray had a stacked structure by many small disk-like grains.