Origin of the S‐Shaped <i>JV</i> Curve and the Light‐Soaking Issue in Inverted Organic Solar Cells

Abstract

Inverted organic solar cells generally exhibit a strong s‐shaped kink in the current–voltage characteristics ( JV curve) that may be removed by exposure to UV light (light‐soaking) leading to a drastically improved performance. Using in‐device characterization methods the origin of the light‐soaking issue in inverted solar cells employing titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) as an electron selective layer is clarified. An injected hole reservoir accumulated at the TiO 2 /organic interface of the pristine device is observed from extraction current transients; the hole reservoir increases the recombination and results in an s‐shape in the JV curve of pristine devices. The hole reservoir and the s‐shape is a result of the energetics at the selective contact in the pristine device; the effect of UV exposure is to decrease the work function of the indium tin oxide/TiO 2 ‐contact, increasing the built‐in potential. This hinders the build‐up of the hole reservoir and the s‐shape is removed. The proposed model is in excellent agreement with drift‐diffusion simulations.