The neglected influence of zinc oxide light-soaking on stability measurements of inverted organic solar cells

Although zinc oxide (ZnO) is one of the most commonly used materials for electron transport layers in organic solar cells (OSCs), it also comes with disadvantages such as the so-called light-soaking issues, i.e., its need for exposure to UV light to reach its full potential in OSCs. Here, the impact of ZnO light-soaking issues on stability measurements of OSCs is investigated. It is found that in the absence of UV light a reversible degradation occurs, which is independent of the used active layer material and accelerates at higher temperatures but can be undone with a short UV exposure. This reversible aging is attributed to the re-adsorption of oxygen, which for manufacturing reasons is trapped at the interface of ZnO, even in an oxygen-free environment. This oxygen can be removed with a UV pretreatment of the ZnO but at the expense of device efficiency and production that has to take place in an oxygen-free environment. This study establishes that stability measurements of ZnO-containing OSCs must be performed exclusively with a light source including a UV part since the usage of a simple white light source – as often reported in the literature – can lead to erroneous results.