New polymer solar cell technique created

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have created a new technique for fabricating organic polymer solar cells -- a step toward producing low-cost, plastic solar cells.

Researchers at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and UCLA's California NanoSystems Institute used an electronic, glue-based lamination process, combined with interface modification, to create a one-step method for semi-transparent polymer solar cell fabrication.

The scientists said the method eliminates the need for expensive and time-consuming high-vacuum processes now used in fabrication, and the resulting device has the advantage of being low-cost and achieving high transparency for various applications.

The technique -- developed by Professor Yang Yang, former UCLA graduate student Jinsong Huang and research associate Gang Li -- appears in the January issue of the journal Advanced Materials.