Multijunction organic photovoltaic cells for underwater solar power

A modeling and simulation effort is presented that produces a design of an novel organic photovoltaic (OPV) device specifically tailored for underwater (UW) operation. An analysis of the UW environment is presented which highlights the significant advantages of OPV for UW operation. An OPV multijunction design is presented consisting of two absorber layers with the same spectral response, enabling efficient conversion of the narrow UW spectrum and very high voltages. Novel hybrid organic/inorganic materials are introduced that are capable of forming distributed Bragg reflectors for efficient photon management and improved current. Importantly, the entire solar cell design is based on solution processed materials enabling low cost manufacturing.