Computational modeling of optical properties in aluminum nanolayers inserted in ZnO for solar cell electrodes.

Abstract

Numerical simulations were used to study the transmittances (Ts) of ZnO/Al/ZnO (ZAZ) films with Al thicknesses between ∼1 and 40nm. The simulations are validated using previously reported experimental results. Multilayers with Al thicknesses between ∼1 and 10nm are shown to have average Ts between ∼75% and 90%, which decreased farther to ∼63 and 41% for the Al layer thicknesses of 20 and 40nm, respectively. Variations in the ZnO thickness between ∼10 and 100nm are shown to have little effect on the optical properties of the model multilayers for a given Al thickness. The reliability of the numerical simulations is tested by comparing them with experimental measurements on films produced using similar interlayer thicknesses. These are also shown to be comparable to the performance characteristics of indium tin oxide (ITO) anodes that are used currently in organic solar cells (OSCs) and organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs).