A method for fabricating an organic photovoltaic cell with entirely 3D printed information Control

Abstract

Advances in multi-material inkjet printing have enabled the creation of photovoltaic systems composed of entirely printed layers. These systems function by depositing all of the components of an organic (carbon-based) photovoltaic cell in liquid phase, and using heating to remove excess solvent between layer depositions. This thesis builds on those results, presenting a novel alternative to a traditional 3D printed silver top contact (which limits the performance of the photovoltaic cell with its high resistivity) in the form of an evaporated aluminum top contact whose geometry is determined by a 3D printed shadow mask layer. The shadow mask layer is composed of a 3D printed acrylate ink that is cross-linked under UV light, which can be removed after aluminum deposition to leave behind a tightly-controlled and well defined evaporated aluminum region. In this way, the author presents the first AM1.5 tested organic photovoltaic device with entirely 3D printed information control.