Tube-based geometries for organic photovoltaics

We demonstrate a waveguiding tube-based optical geometry that provides a general approach to improving organic photovoltaic performance. By fabricating bulk-heterojunction photovoltaics onto thin tubular light pipes, the optical energy can be effectively captured within the absorbing layer without associated reflective losses at the front and rear surfaces of the devices as is typical in planar structures. We have used a common absorber system: poly-3-hexyl-thiophene:phenyl-C61-butyric-acid-methyl-ester to demonstrate these tubular optical geometries result in very little overall radiative loss. Surprisingly, this also leads to an overall broadening of the absorption window for the device as indicated by the external quantum efficiency.