Stable ultrathin partially oxidized copper film electrode for highly efficient flexible solar cells.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 26538008.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/ncomms9830 and PMC identifier 4667621.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Advances in flexible optoelectronic devices have led to an increasing need for developing highly efficient, low-cost, flexible transparent conducting electrodes. Copper-based electrodes have been unattainable due to the relatively low optical transmission and poor oxidation resistance of copper. Here, we report the synthesis of a completely continuous, smooth copper ultra-thin film via limited copper oxidation with a trace amount of oxygen. The weakly oxidized copper thin film sandwiched between zinc oxide films exhibits good optoelectrical performance (an average transmittance of 83% over the visible spectral range of 400-800 nm and a sheet resistance of 9 Ω sq(-1)) and strong oxidation resistance. These values surpass those previously reported for copper-based electrodes; further, the record power conversion efficiency of 7.5% makes it clear that the use of an oxidized copper-based transparent electrode on a polymer substrate can provide an effective solution for the fabrication of flexible organic solar cells.