The influence of annealing environment of ZnO thin film on its optical, structural and photovoltaics performance

Abisheva A.K. Afanasyev D.A. Ilyassov B.R. Aimukhanov A.K. Kulbachinskii V.A. Zeinidenov A.K.
May 2024 Elsevier B.V.

Physica E: Low-Dimensional Systems and Nanostructures
2024 #159

For inverted organic solar cells (IOSC), the interface contacts between the ZnO electron transport layer and the organic active layer play an important role in device performance and stability. The light absorption effect is one of the major disadvantages of IOSC when metal oxides are used as the electron transport layer (ETL). Oxide ETL primarily causes the above effect due to the energy barrier, deep level defects and excess carrier tunneling. In this work, we studied the effects of annealing ZnO films under various environmental conditions. ZnO films were synthesized by the sol-gel method, and the films were annealed at a temperature of 450 °C in air, an inert nitrogen gas (N₂), oxygen (О₂) and vacuum. SEM images and EDX spectra of the surface of thin ZnO films showed a change in thickness and the quantitative content of Zn/O elements. It was found that the annealing environment has a great influence on the morphology and thickness of ZnO films. Numerical calculations of the extinction, absorption, and scattering spectra of ZnO nanoparticles of different sizes are in good agreement with the results of measurements. Volt-ampere and electrical impedance measurements showed that ZnO films not only change the overall electrical resistance of devices to the contribution of the ZnO film resistance, but also change the electrical properties of the P3HT-PC61BM heterojunction.

Electron transport layer , Impedance spectroscopy , Inverted polymer solar cells , Nitrogen , Oxygen , Photovoltaic performance , Vacuum , Zinc oxide

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Karaganda Buketov University, Center of nanotechnology and functional nanomaterials, University str., 28, Karaganda, 100028, Kazakhstan
Astana IT University, Expo C1, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
Department of Low-Temperature Physics and Superconductivity, Faculty of Physics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation

Karaganda Buketov University
Astana IT University
Department of Low-Temperature Physics and Superconductivity

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