IMEC is working on manufacturing processes for organic solar cells in collaboration with US firm Plextronics.
IMEC aims to develop organic multi-junction solar cells with efficiency of 10% by 2012. The company's focus is also on up-scaling of the process to achieve a large-area industrial manufacturing technology with an average efficiency of 7% (+/-0.5%) and solar cell lifetime of five years.
The Belgium-based nanotechnology research centre will develop a reproducible process for high-efficiency organic solar cells using Plextronics materials and inks, which have demonstrated efficiencies as high as 5.9%, according to recent testing at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Colorado.
"Plextronics' materials look very promising for high-efficiency reproducible organic solar cells;" said Jef Poortmans, program director solar at IMEC.
In detail, IMEC will investigate Plexcore OS, which is a regioregular poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT) polymer with a high absorption coefficient close to the maximum photon flux in the solar spectrum and high mobility. The materials will be processed using spin coating and validated on film morphology, carrier mobility and reproducibility.
"With their focus on materials, inks, and process technology for organic solar cells, we expect that our work with Plextronics will help accelerate our optimization and development of an industrial large-area process," said Poortmans.
As a result solar cells will be processed on different substrates using spin-coated films of the material.