Simulating Optical Behaviors of Multi-layered Solar Devices Via the Transfer-matrix Method

The transfer matrix method to calculate scattering matrices uses semi-analytical methods of solving partial differential equations. This method is a powerful way of representing devices as a stack of layers with different refractive indices. The source code for this project represents a device as a series of layers of materials stacked horizontally. We simulate semiconducting organic polymer PEDOT:PSS thin films on ITO coated glass, a common structure for organic polymer solar cells, and compare the absorption to lab-fabricated samples of the same structure. Noting the differences and similarities between the quantities allows us to adjust our simulation to be more accurate.