Stacked organic photosensitive optoelectronic devices with an electrically parallel configuration

• US 6,198,092 B1
• Filed: 08/19/1998
• Issued: 03/06/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/19/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: The Trustees of Princeton University (Princeton University)
• Original Assignee: The Trustees of Princeton University (Princeton University)
• Inventors: Forrest, Stephen R., Bulovic, Vladimir
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, John R.
• Application Number:
  US09/136,165
• Time in Patent Office: 930 Days
• Field of Search: 250/214.R, 250/214.1, 250/214.AL, 250/208.1, 250/208.2, 257/40, 257/431, 257/436, 257/448, 257/464, 438/57, 438/59, 438/74, 438/82, 430/56, 430/57, 430/58, 430/59, 430/60, 430/66, 136/263, 136/291, 136/293, 136/252, 136/256, 428/411.1, 428/456, 428/469, 428/913
• US Class Current: 250/214.1
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 10/00 Nanotechnology for information processing, storage or transmission, e.g. quantum computing or single electron logic
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 30/20 comprising organic-organic junctions, e.g. donor-acceptor junctions
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 30/211 comprising multiple junctions, e.g. double heterojunctions
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 30/451 comprising a metal-semiconductor-metal [m-s-m] structure
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 30/57 comprising multiple junctions, e.g. tandem PV cells
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 39/32 Organic image sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/211 Fullerenes, e.g. C60
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/215 comprising substituents, e.g. PCBM
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/30 Coordination compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/311 Phthalocyanine
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/60 Organic compounds having low molecular weight H10K85/10 - H10K85/50 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 85/621 Aromatic anhydride or imide compounds, e.g. perylene tetra-carboxylic dianhydride or perylene tetracarboxylic di-imide
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/549 Organic PV cells

Abstract

A stacked organic photosensitive optoelectronic device optimized to enhance desired characteristics such as external quantum efficiency and current. The photosensitive optoelectronic device has a plurality of photosensitive optoelectronic subcells electrically configured in parallel. The substrate may be the bottom electrode or there may be a bottom electrode distinct from the substrate. Each subcell comprises one or more organic photoconductive layers between electrode layers. The thicknesses of the subcells and the total number of subcells may be selected, for example, so as to maximize the external quantum efficiency of a stacked solar cell. In one embodiment the top electrode is transparent. In other embodiments two or more electrodes are transparent. In other embodiments photosensitive optoelectronic devices with multilayer photoconductive structures and photosensitive optoelectronic devices with a reflective layer or a reflective substrate are disclosed.

Claims

1. A parallel stacked organic photosensitive optoelectronic device comprising:

a substrate having a proximal surface and a distal surface; and

a plurality of organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells, each subcell having a transparent cathode and a transparent anode, said subcells in superposed relation with each other and with said proximal surface of said substrate,

wherein said plurality of organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells are electrically connected to each other in parallel.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the thickness of each of said organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells is selected to maximize the external quantum efficiency of said device.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the thickness of each of said organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells is selected to maximize the total current output of said device.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the thickness of each of said organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells is selected to maximize the internal quantum efficiency of each of said organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein each of said organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells is selected to have spectral sensitivity in a different region of the electromagnetic spectrum.

6. The device of claim 5 wherein the spectral sensitivity is selected by selecting the species of photosensitive organic material comprising each of said organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein each of said organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells is a unilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcell.

8. The device of claim 1 wherein each of said organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells is a bilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcell.

9. The device of claim 1 wherein each of said organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells is a multilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcell.

10. The device of claim 7 wherein each of said unilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells is isolated from any adjacent unilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcell by a transparent insulating layer.

11. The device of claim 8 wherein each of said bilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells shares a common electrode layer with an adjacent bilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcell.

12. The device of claim 8 wherein each of said bilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells is isolated from any adjacent bilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcell by a transparent insulating layer.

13. The device of claim 12 wherein said plurality of bilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells are oriented to have the same electronic polarity.

14. The device of claim 13 wherein said plurality of bilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells are oriented so that said substrate is closer to the cathode than to the anode of each of said bilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells.

15. The device of claim 13 wherein said plurality of bilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells are oriented so that said substrate is closer to the anode than to the cathode of each of said bilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells.

16. The device of claim 9 wherein each of said multilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells shares a common electrode layer with an adjacent multilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcell.

17. The device of claim 9 wherein each of said multilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells is isolated from any adjacent multilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcell by a transparent insulating layer.

18. The device of claim 17 wherein said plurality of multilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells are oriented to have the same electronic polarity.

19. The device of claim 18 wherein said plurality of multilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells are oriented so that said substrate is closer to the cathode than to the anode of each of said multilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells.

20. The device of claim 18 wherein said plurality of multilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells are oriented so that said substrate is closer to the anode than to the cathode of each of said multilayer organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells.

21. The device of claim 1 further comprising a reflective layer disposed upon the organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcell farthest from said substrate.

22. The device of claim 1 further comprising a reflective layer disposed between said substrate and the organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcell closest to said substrate.

23. The device of claim 1 wherein said substrate is reflective.

24. The device of claim 1 wherein each of said organic photosensitive optoelectronic subcells are comprised of a plurality of photoconductive organic layers selected to form a plurality of interfaces for dissociating excitons.

25. The device of claim 24 wherein the thicknesses of said plurality of photoconductive organic layers are selected to alter said molecular energy levels of excitons so as to form multiple quantum wells in said plurality of photoconductive organic layers.

26. An electronic device incorporating the device of claim 1, said electronic device selected from the group consisting of a radio, a television, a computer, a calculator, a telephone, a wireless communication device, a watch, an emergency location device, an electric vehicle, an emergency power supply, a power generation device, a monitoring device, an inspection device, a radiation detector, an imaging device, and an optical coupling device.

27. The device of claim 1, wherein at least one of said cathodes is a non-metallic, transparent cathode, said non-metallic, transparent cathode comprising an organic layer and an inorganic layer, wherein the inorganic layer is deposited onto the organic layer.