Germany funds organic solar cell project
Organic materials appear to be a promising candidate for application in low cost thin film solar cells. While conversion efficiencies do not match that of silicon, it is hoped that the materials processing required will be lower cost. First samples have achieved conversion efficiency of more than 5%. In the mid to long-term the researchers hope that organic solar cells will achieve efficiencies even higher than Si thin film solar cells. A further advantage is that the materials can be more eco friendly. Transparent and flexible substrates are another attractive feature.
Aixtron has an exclusive licensing agreement and a joint development programme with Universal Display (UDC) in the USA. Aixtron has developed a low cost, high-throughput process, tailored to the needs of high-end device mass production for high resolution full-colour organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays and other organic products.