Auger electron nanoscale mapping and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy combined with gas cluster ion beam sputtering to study an organic bulk heterojunction

The lateral and vertical distributions of organic p/n bulk heterojunctions for an organic solar cell device are, respectively, investigated using nanometer-scale Auger electron mapping and using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) with Ar gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) sputtering. The concentration of sulfur, present only in the p-type material, is traced to verify the distribution of p-type (donor) and n-type (acceptor) materials in the blended structure. In the vertical direction, a considerable change in atomic sulfur concentration is observed using XPS depth profiling with Ar GCIB sputtering. In addition, Auger electron mapping of sulfur reveals the lateral 2-dimensional distribution of p-and n-type materials. The combination of Auger electron mapping with Ar GCIB sputtering should thereby allow the construction of 3-dimensional distributions of p-and n-type materials in organic photovoltaic cells. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.