Low temperature, solution-processed alumina for organic solar cells

In this work, we have reported for the first time a facile route for developing solution-processed Al₂O₃ film at a greatly reduced processing temperature and studied its applications in producing inverted polymer solar cells (PSCs). These PSCs using Al₂O₃ thin film as the electron-extraction layer demonstrated improved diode characteristics and achieved a 20% higher power conversion efficiency than devices using the conventional ZnO buffer layer. Furthermore, the low temperature processing of the Al₂O₃ film makes it compatible with fabrication of flexible organic electronic devices based on plastic substrates. (paper)