Organic photovoltaic cells (OPVCs), having received significant attention over the last decade, are yet to be established as viable alternatives to conventional solar cells due to their low power conversion efficiency (PCE). Complex interactions of several phenomena coupled with the lack of understanding regarding the influence of fabrication conditions and nanostructure morphology have been major barriers to realizing higher PCE. To this end, we propose a computational microstructure design framework for designing the active layer of P3HT:PCBM based OPVCs conforming to the bulk heterojunction (BHJ) architecture. The framework pivots around the spectral density function (SDF), a frequency space microstructure characterization, and reconstruction methodology, for microstructure design representation. We validate the applicability of SDF for representing the active layer morphology in OPVCs using images of the nanostructure obtained by cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (XSTM/S). SDF enables a low-dimensional microstructural representation that is crucial in formulating a parametric-based microstructure optimization scheme. A level-cut Gaussian random field (GRF, governed by SDF) technique is used to generate reconstructions that serve as representative volume elements (RVEs) for structure–performance simulations. A novel structure–performance (SP) simulation approach is developed using a physics-based performance metric, incident photon to converted electron (IPCE) ratio, to account for the impact of microstructural features on OPVC performance. Finally, a SDF-based computational IPCE optimization study incorporating only three design variables results in 36.75% increase in IPCE, underlining the efficacy of the proposed design framework.
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November 2018
Research-Article
A Spectral Density Function Approach for Active Layer Design of Organic Photovoltaic Cells
Umar Farooq Ghumman,
Umar Farooq Ghumman
Mechanical Engineering,
Northwestern University,
2145 Sheridan Road,
Evanston, IL 60208
e-mail: umarghumman2018@u.northwestern.edu
Northwestern University,
2145 Sheridan Road,
Evanston, IL 60208
e-mail: umarghumman2018@u.northwestern.edu
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Akshay Iyer,
Akshay Iyer
Mechanical Engineering,
Northwestern University,
Evanston, IL 60208
e-mail: akshayiyer2021@u.northwestern.edu
Northwestern University,
2145 Sheridan Road
,Evanston, IL 60208
e-mail: akshayiyer2021@u.northwestern.edu
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Rabindra Dulal,
Rabindra Dulal
Physics and Astronomy,
University of Wyoming,
Laramie, WY 82071
e-mail: rdulal@uwyo.edu
University of Wyoming,
1000 E. University, Dept 3905
,Laramie, WY 82071
e-mail: rdulal@uwyo.edu
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Joydeep Munshi,
Joydeep Munshi
Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics,
Lehigh University,
Packard Lab 367,
19 Memorial Drive West,
Bethlehem, PA 18015
e-mail: jom317@lehigh.edu
Lehigh University,
Packard Lab 367,
19 Memorial Drive West,
Bethlehem, PA 18015
e-mail: jom317@lehigh.edu
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Aaron Wang,
Aaron Wang
Physics and Astronomy,
University of Wyoming,
Laramie, WY 82071
e-mail: swang9@uwyo.edu
University of Wyoming,
1000 E. University, Dept 3905
,Laramie, WY 82071
e-mail: swang9@uwyo.edu
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TeYu Chien,
TeYu Chien
Physics and Astronomy,
University of Wyoming,
Laramie, WY 82071
e-mail: tchien@uwyo.edu
University of Wyoming,
1000 E. University, Dept 3905
,Laramie, WY 82071
e-mail: tchien@uwyo.edu
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Ganesh Balasubramanian,
Ganesh Balasubramanian
Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics,
Lehigh University,
Packard Lab 561,
19 Memorial Drive West,
Bethlehem, PA 18015
e-mail: bganesh@lehigh.edu
Lehigh University,
Packard Lab 561,
19 Memorial Drive West,
Bethlehem, PA 18015
e-mail: bganesh@lehigh.edu
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Wei Chen
Wei Chen
Mechanical Engineering,
Northwestern University,
Evanston, IL 60208
e-mail: weichen@northwestern.edu
Northwestern University,
2145 Sheridan Road
,Evanston, IL 60208
e-mail: weichen@northwestern.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Umar Farooq Ghumman
Mechanical Engineering,
Northwestern University,
2145 Sheridan Road,
Evanston, IL 60208
e-mail: umarghumman2018@u.northwestern.edu
Northwestern University,
2145 Sheridan Road,
Evanston, IL 60208
e-mail: umarghumman2018@u.northwestern.edu
Akshay Iyer
Mechanical Engineering,
Northwestern University,
Evanston, IL 60208
e-mail: akshayiyer2021@u.northwestern.edu
Northwestern University,
2145 Sheridan Road
,Evanston, IL 60208
e-mail: akshayiyer2021@u.northwestern.edu
Rabindra Dulal
Physics and Astronomy,
University of Wyoming,
Laramie, WY 82071
e-mail: rdulal@uwyo.edu
University of Wyoming,
1000 E. University, Dept 3905
,Laramie, WY 82071
e-mail: rdulal@uwyo.edu
Joydeep Munshi
Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics,
Lehigh University,
Packard Lab 367,
19 Memorial Drive West,
Bethlehem, PA 18015
e-mail: jom317@lehigh.edu
Lehigh University,
Packard Lab 367,
19 Memorial Drive West,
Bethlehem, PA 18015
e-mail: jom317@lehigh.edu
Aaron Wang
Physics and Astronomy,
University of Wyoming,
Laramie, WY 82071
e-mail: swang9@uwyo.edu
University of Wyoming,
1000 E. University, Dept 3905
,Laramie, WY 82071
e-mail: swang9@uwyo.edu
TeYu Chien
Physics and Astronomy,
University of Wyoming,
Laramie, WY 82071
e-mail: tchien@uwyo.edu
University of Wyoming,
1000 E. University, Dept 3905
,Laramie, WY 82071
e-mail: tchien@uwyo.edu
Ganesh Balasubramanian
Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics,
Lehigh University,
Packard Lab 561,
19 Memorial Drive West,
Bethlehem, PA 18015
e-mail: bganesh@lehigh.edu
Lehigh University,
Packard Lab 561,
19 Memorial Drive West,
Bethlehem, PA 18015
e-mail: bganesh@lehigh.edu
Wei Chen
Mechanical Engineering,
Northwestern University,
Evanston, IL 60208
e-mail: weichen@northwestern.edu
Northwestern University,
2145 Sheridan Road
,Evanston, IL 60208
e-mail: weichen@northwestern.edu
1U. F. Ghumman and A. Iyer contributed equally to this work.
2Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Design Automation Committee of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL DESIGN. Manuscript received March 30, 2018; final manuscript received July 11, 2018; published online September 7, 2018. Assoc. Editor: Carolyn Seepersad.
J. Mech. Des. Nov 2018, 140(11): 111408 (14 pages)
Published Online: September 7, 2018
Article history
Received:
March 30, 2018
Revised:
July 11, 2018
Citation
Farooq Ghumman, U., Iyer, A., Dulal, R., Munshi, J., Wang, A., Chien, T., Balasubramanian, G., and Chen, W. (September 7, 2018). "A Spectral Density Function Approach for Active Layer Design of Organic Photovoltaic Cells." ASME. J. Mech. Des. November 2018; 140(11): 111408. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4040912
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