Solution‐Processed Tin Oxide‐PEDOT:PSS Interconnecting Layers for Efficient Inverted and Conventional Tandem Polymer Solar Cells

Abstract

Tin oxide nanoparticles are employed as an electron transporting layer in solution‐processed polymer solar cells. Tin oxide based devices yield excellent performance and can interchangeably be used in conventional and inverted device configurations. In combination with poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) as a hole transporting layer, tin oxide forms an effective interconnecting layer (ICL) for tandem solar cells. Conventional and inverted tandem cells with this ICL provide efficiencies up to 10.4% in good agreement with optical‐electrical modeling simulations. The critical advantage of tin oxide in an ICL in a conventional tandem structure over the commonly used zinc oxide is that the latter requires the use of a pH‐neutral formulation of PEDOT:PSS to fabricate the ICL, limiting the open‐circuit voltage (VOC) because of its low work function. The SnO2/PEDOT:PSS ICL, on the other hand, provides a nearly loss‐free VOC.