UCLA researchers break new ground in plastic solar cell fabrication

Method opens new direction for future low-cost plastic electronic devices

FINDINGS:

Researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) have announced the invention of a new method for the fabrication of organic polymer solar cells.

Completing a critical step towards the ultimate goal of low-cost polymer (plastic) solar cells, the team used an electronic-glue-based lamination process, combined with interface modification, to create a one-step method for semi-transparent polymer solar cell fabrication. The method eliminates the need for the expensive and time-consuming high-vacuum process used in fabrication, and the resulting device has the advantage of being low-cost and achieving high transparency for various applications.

AUTHORS:

The new method was developed by Yang Yang, UCLA professor of materials science and engineering and a member of the CNSI, along with former UCLA graduate student Jinsong Huang and Gang Li, a UCLA research associate who is now with Solarmer Energy Inc. To speak with the researchers, contact Jennifer Marcus at (310) 267-4839 or jmarcus@cnsi.ucla.edu.

See the full article at the UCLA Newsroom