FTMC Physicists’ Study Published in One of the World’s Most Prestigious Scientific Journals: New Insights into Organic Solar Cells

FTMC researchers Prof. Dr Habil. Vidmantas Gulbinas and Dr Rokas Jasiūnas, together with an international team of scientists, have published a paper in one of the world’s leading scientific journals, Nature Photonics. The article is entitled “Overcoming the fill-factor limit of organic solar cells.”

The study presents an investigation of electronic processes in next-generation organic solar cells – one of the most promising areas in future energy technologies. These cells stand out for their potential to be extremely thin, flexible, semi-transparent, and available in various colours, opening possibilities for integration into buildings, windows, or even wearable electronics.

However, until now, the performance of organic solar cells has been limited by a key parameter – the fill factor – which, together with two other parameters, determines how efficiently a device converts absorbed light into electricity.

For the first time, researchers from the FTMC Department of Molecular Compound Physics, together with their co-authors, have comprehensively demonstrated which microscopic electronic processes limit the fill factor and how these processes can be improved by refining the active materials that convert absorbed light into charge carriers.

The authors revealed that the main cause of energy losses is inefficient charge carrier generation and the strong dependence of this process on the electric field within the active material. The method proposed by the researchers enables these losses to be reduced, thereby increasing device efficiency.

As noted by FTMC physicist Vidmantas Gulbinas, the study provides new insights into the fundamental processes underlying organic solar cells: “By identifying precisely what limits the fill factor, we can not only better understand how these devices operate, but also systematically search for solutions to improve their efficiency.”

The scientists emphasise that the study has not only theoretical but also clear practical significance. A better understanding of the fill factor and the ability to control it could represent a crucial step towards the commercialisation of organic solar cells.

According to FTMC researchers, further progress in this field will depend on close collaboration between scientists from different disciplines: “To achieve a breakthrough, it is essential to combine the efforts of chemists, materials scientists and engineers. Only in this way can we translate fundamental discoveries into real technologies,” notes Gulbinas.

It is expected that the results of this study will contribute to the faster development and practical deployment of organic solar cells. This could open opportunities to create cheaper, lighter and more versatile solar energy systems, significantly expanding the scope of renewable energy applications.

Source: FTMC