Encapsulation of pentacene/C60 organic solar cells with Al2O3 deposited by atomic layer deposition

Abstract

Organic solar cells based on pentacene/C60 heterojunctions were encapsulated using a 200-nm-thick film of Al2O3 deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Encapsulated devices maintained power conversion efficiency after exposure to ambient atmosphere for over 6000h, while devices with no encapsulation degraded rapidly after only 10h of air exposure. In addition, thermal annealing associated with the ALD deposition is shown to improve the open-circuit voltage and power conversion efficiency of the solar cells.