The Optics of Organic Photovoltaics: Fiber-Based Devices

Recently, there has been great interest in fiber-based photovoltaic (PV) cells for improving the performance of organic absorbers. Fiber-based solar cells are a subset of a larger class of PVs that have been fabricated to have enhanced optical performance when used with low optical density absorbers. In this paper, we compare and contrast the different approaches to the optical engineering of organic PVs. Unlike most other architectures, the fiber-based solar cell confines the radiation modes of the fiber to achieve "ideal" absorption across the absorption band of the polymer. This yields the optimum performance for a given absorber. We also present a route to the large-scale fabrication of such devices, which is cost competitive with other organic PV platforms.