Hybrid solar cells with thermal deposited semiconductive oxide layer

Abstract

The present invention relates to hybrid solar cells having a semiconducting oxide layer which is vapor deposited on a substrate.

1 . A hybrid solar cell, wherein hybrid solar cell is produced by a method comprising introducing a semiconducting oxide layer (SOL) on a substrate by thermal deposition.  
     
     
         2 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 1 , wherein said hybrid solar cell has a thickness of the complete cell of about 100 nm.  
     
     
         3 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 1 , wherein said hybrid solar cell has an efficiency of about 0.7 to about 1.3% measured at 60 mW/cm .  
     
     
         4 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 1 , wherein said hybrid solar cell is flexible.  
     
     
         5 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 1 , wherein said SOL layer is vapor-deposited.  
     
     
         6 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 1 , wherein said method further comprises deposition and/or vapour-deposition of an additional layer of lithium fluoride close to the EM interfaces either on one side or both sides.  
     
     
         7 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 6 , wherein the additional layer has a thickness of between about 0.1 Å to about 50 Å.  
     
     
         8 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 1 , wherein said method further comprises increasing the surfaces of the interfaces of the layers by use of structured indium tin oxide, co-evaporation of HTM and dye and/or dye/TiO 2  or co-evaporation of HTM and a dopant.  
     
     
         9 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 1 , wherein said substrate is selected from the group consisting of glass, coated glass, polymeric foils, norbornene-based foils, SnO 2 -coated metal foils and stainless steel foils.  
     
     
         10 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 1 , wherein said hybrid solar cell comprises an electrode material which is selected from the group consisting of indium tin oxide, fluorine doped tin oxide, zinc oxide, and metal-doped zinc oxide, wherein said metal is selected from the ground consisting of Au, Al, Ca, Mg, and combinations thereof.  
     
     
         11 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 10 , wherein said electrode material is indium tin oxide.  
     
     
         12 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 1 , wherein said hybrid solar cell comprises a hole transport material selected from the group consisting of phthalocyanine and derivatives thereof (with or without a central atom or group of atoms), metal-free and metal containing porphyrins and derivatives thereof, TPD derivatives, triphenylamine and its derivatives, (including different ground structure as TDATAs, TTABs, TDABs, and cyclic variations like N-carbazoles and its derivatives), thiophenes, polythiophenes and derivatives thereof, polyanilines and derivatives thereof and hexa-benzocoronene and its derivatives, triphenyldiamine derivatives, aromatic diamine compounds having connected tertiary aromatic amine units of 1,-bis(4-(di-p-tolylamino)phenyl)-cyclohexane, aromatic diamines containing two or more tertiary amines and having two or more fused aromatic rings substituted on the nitrogen atoms, aromatic trimers having a starburst structure derived from triphenylbenzene, aromatic diamines, triphenylamine derivatives whose molecule is sterically asymmetric as a whole, compounds having a plurality of aromatic diamino groups substituted on a pyrenyl group, aromatic diamines having tertiary amine units connected through an ethylene group, aromatic diamines having a styryl structure, starburst type aromatic triamines, benzyl-phenyl compounds, compounds having tertiary amine units connected through a fluorene group, triamine compounds, bisdipyridylaminobiophenyl compounds, N,N,N-triphenylamine derivatives; aromatic diamines having a phenoxazine structure, diaminophenylanthridine, and other carbazole derivatives, hydrazoen compounds, silazane compounds, silanamine derivatives, phosphamine derivatives, quinacridone compounds, stilbene compounds, triazole derivatives, oxadiazole derivatives, imidazole derivatives, polyarylalkane derivatives, pyrazoline derivatives, pyrazolone derivatives, oxadiazole derivatives, imidazole derivatives, polyarylalkane derivatives, pyrazoline derivatives, amino-substituted chalcone derivatives, oxazole derivatives, styrylanthracene derivatives, fluorenone derivatives and polysilane derivatives, all compounds alone or in admixture of two or more, polymers, polyphosphazenes, polyamides, polyvinyl triphenylamine, polymers having a triphenylamine skeleton, polymers having triphenylamine units connected through a methylene group and polymethacrylates containing aromatic amine.  
     
     
         13 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 12 , wherein said hole transport material is copper-phthalocyanine (CuPc).  
     
     
         14 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 12 , wherein the substance of said hole transport material is doped.  
     
     
         15 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 1 , wherein said SOL is a semiconducting oxide  
     
     
         16 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 1 , wherein said SOL is selected from the group consisting of TiO 2 , SnO 2 , ZnO, Sb 2 O 3 , and PbO.  
     
     
         17 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 1 , wherein said SOL is TiO 2 .  
     
     
         18 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 1 , wherein said hybrid solar cell comprises a dye is selected from the group consisting of di- or monosubstituted perylenes with all possible substituents, terrylene, quinacridone, anthraquinone, nealred, titanylphthalocyanine, porphines and porphyrines and derivatives thereof, polyfluorenes and derivatives thereof and azo-dyes.  
     
     
         19 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 1 , wherein a dye layer is deposited in a thickness of about 5 to about 65 nm and the SOL is deposited in a thickness of about 5 to about 50 nm.  
     
     
         20 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 1 , wherein said cell comprises more than one dye.  
     
     
         21 . A hybrid solar cell, wherein hybrid solar cell has the general structure  
         Substrate+EM/HTM/dye/SOL/EM, or  Substrate+EM/SOL/dye/HTM/EM, or  
         Substrate+EM/HTM/SOL/EM, in which  EM is an electrode material, selected from the group consisting of a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) and metal, with at least one of the EM layers of the cell being a TCO,    HTM is a hole transport material,    SOL is a semiconducting oxide layer,    “dye” means a suited dye, and wherein said method comprises vapor-deposition of the SOL of the hybrid organic solar cell.    
     
     
         22 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 21 , wherein said hybrid solar cell has an efficiency of about 0.7 to about 1.3% measured at 60 mW/cm 2 .  
     
     
         23 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 21 , wherein said hybrid solar cell is flexible.  
     
     
         24 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 21 , wherein said method further comprises vapor-deposition of at least one second layer of the hybrid organic solar cell in addition to the SOL layer.  
     
     
         25 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 21 , wherein said method further comprises deposition and/or vapour-deposition of an additional layer of lithium fluoride close to the EM interfaces either on one side or both sides.  
     
     
         26 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 25 , wherein the additional layer has a thickness of between about 0.1 Å to about 50 Å.  
     
     
         27 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 21 , wherein said method further comprises increasing the surfaces of the interfaces of the layers by use of structured indium tin oxide, co-evaporation of HTM and dye and/or dye/TiO 2  or co-evaporation of HTM and a dopant.  
     
     
         28 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 21 , wherein said substrate is selected from the group consisting of glass, coated glass, polymeric foils, norbornene-based foils, SnO 2 -coated metal foils and stainless steel foils.  
     
     
         29 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 21 , wherein said electrode material is selected from the group consisting of indium tin oxide, fluorine doped tin oxide, zinc oxide, and metal-doped zinc oxide, wherein said metal is selected from the ground consisting of Au, Al, Ca, Mg, and combinations thereof.  
     
     
         30 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 29 , wherein said electrode material is indium tin oxide.  
     
     
         31 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 21 , wherein said hole transport material selected from the group consisting of phthalocyanine and derivatives thereof (with or without a central atom or group of atoms), metal-free and metal containing porphyrins and derivatives thereof, TPD derivatives, triphenylamine and its derivatives, (including different ground structure as TDATAs, TTABs, TDABs, and cyclic variations like N-carbazoles and its derivatives), thiophenes, polythiophenes and derivatives thereof, polyanilines and derivatives thereof and hexa-benzocoronene and its derivatives, triphenyldiamine derivatives, aromatic diamine compounds having connected tertiary aromatic amine units of 1,-bis(4-(di-p-tolylamino)phenyl)-cyclohexane, aromatic diamines containing two or more tertiary amines and having two or more fused aromatic rings substituted on the nitrogen atoms, aromatic trimers having a starburst structure derived from triphenylbenzene, aromatic diamines, triphenylamine derivatives whose molecule is sterically asymmetric as a whole, compounds having a plurality of aromatic diamino groups substituted on a pyrenyl group, aromatic diamines having tertiary amine units connected through an ethylene group, aromatic diamines having a styryl structure, starburst type aromatic triamines, benzyl-phenyl compounds, compounds having tertiary amine units connected through a fluorene group, triamine compounds, bisdipyridylaminobiophenyl compounds, N,N,N-triphenylamine derivatives; aromatic diamines having a phenoxazine structure, diaminophenylanthridine, and other carbazole derivatives, hydrazoen compounds, silazane compounds, silanamine derivatives, phosphamine derivatives, quinacridone compounds, stilbene compounds, triazole derivatives, oxadiazole derivatives, imidazole derivatives, polyarylalkane derivatives, pyrazoline derivatives, pyrazolone derivatives, oxadiazole derivatives, imidazole derivatives, polyarylalkane derivatives, pyrazoline derivatives, amino-substituted chalcone derivatives, oxazole derivatives, styrylanthracene derivatives, fluorenone derivatives and polysilane derivatives, all compounds alone or in admixture of two or more, polymers, polyphosphazenes, polyamides, polyvinyl triphenylamine, polymers having a triphenylamine skeleton, polymers having triphenylamine units connected through a methylene group and polymethacrylates containing aromatic amine.  
     
     
         32 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 31 , wherein said hole transport material is copper-phthalocyanine (CuPc).  
     
     
         33 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 31 , wherein the substance of said hole transport material is doped.  
     
     
         34 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 21 , wherein said SOL is a semiconducting oxide  
     
     
         35 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 21 , wherein said SOL is selected from the group consisting of TiO 2 , SnO 2 , ZnO, Sb 2 O 3 , and PbO.  
     
     
         36 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 21 , wherein said SOL is TiO 2 .  
     
     
         37 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 21 , wherein said dye is selected from the group consisting of di- or monosubstituted perylenes with all possible substituents, terrylene, quinacridone, anthraquinone, nealred, titanylphthalocyanine, porphines and porphyrines and derivatives thereof, polyfluorenes and derivatives thereof and azo-dyes.  
     
     
         38 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 21 , wherein a dye layer is deposited in a thickness of about 5 to about 65 nm and the SOL is deposited in a thickness of about 5 to about 50 nm.  
     
     
         39 . The hybrid solar cell according to  claim 21 , wherein said cell comprises more than one dye.