This thesis discusses two different photovoltaic systems, organic solar cells, and photonic power
converters. The open-source software package Solcore was used to simulate and analyze optoelectronic
properties of both systems.
It is widely accepted that the transition from a fossil-fuel driven economy is necessary in the coming
future. Organic solar cells are an alternative energy generation method with potential for fast energetic
and economic payback periods. Bulk heterojunction organic solar cells are a common design, as they
have particularly low manufacturing costs due to a simple device architecture. In this work, two bulk
heterojunction blends are experimentally assessed using the acceptor molecule silicon phthalocyanine
(bis(tri-n-butyl silyl oxide) silicon phthalocyanine ((3BS)2-SiPc) as a potential low-cost non-fullerene
alternative to the typical acceptor [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PC₆₁BM). These acceptors
are compared within blends with the typical donor compound poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), and also
poly[(2,6-(4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl)-benzo [1,2-b:4,5-b’]dithiophene))-alt-(5,5-(1′,3′-di-2-
thienyl-5′,7′-bis(2-ethylhexyl)benzo[1′,2′-c:4′,5′-c’]dithiophene-4,8-dione)] (PBDB-T). Device
performance was assessed under standard conditions, increased angles of incidence, and reduced light
intensities. Devices with the P3HT:(3BS)2-SiPc blend achieved a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of
3.6%, which outperformed P3HT:PC₆₁BM devices with a PCE of 3.0% due to a higher open-circuit voltage
(VOC) of 0.76 V as opposed to 0.53 V. The PBDB-T:(3BS)2-SiPc achieved a high VOC of 1.09 V, but had a
lower PCE of 3.4% in relation to the PBDB-T:PC₆₁BM device with a PCE of 6.4% and a VOC of 0.78 V.
Photonic power converters are devices in optical networks that allow for optical power transmission
rather than the conventional method of electrical power transmission. This provides benefits such as
electrical isolation and resistance to electromagnetic interference, along with the ability to propagate
along the same cable as data. These power converters are used to convert optical power to electrical
power, and operate similarly to a solar cell with a narrow bandwidth. Multijunction designs are often
used for increased operating voltage and efficiency. In such designs employing a vertical architecture,
the bottom-most junction has the largest thickness along with the lowest efficiency due to increased
recombination losses. To improve this lower efficiency, light trapping techniques can be employed to
decrease the junction thickness while retaining the optical thickness. In this work, a current-matched 5-
junction GaAs photonic power converter was simulated with both metallic and distributed Bragg
reflectors at the rear of the device. These reflectors allowed for the thinning of the bottommost
junction, which resulted in an increase in efficiency and overall power output of the power converter.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/42626 |
| Date | 03 September 2021 |
| Creators | Kaller, Kayden |
| Contributors | Hinzer, Karin, Lessard, Benoit |
| Publisher | Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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