Organic solar (OPV) cells are cheap electronics that can replace the widely used
high cost silicon-based electronics for electricity generation. They are cheap
because of the easy techniques involved in their fabrication processes and they
can be produced to cover a large surface area. However, the current low
performance of organic electronics has been traced to failure due to interfacial
adhesion problems, material processes, and service conditions. Therefore,
transportation of charge carriers across the bulk heterojunction system of OPV
cells becomes very difficult in the presence of these flaws. In this paper a
combined experimental and computational technique is used to study the
reliability and physics failure of stretchable OPV cells. Interfacial adhesion
energies in the layered structures of OPV cells are measured and compared with
theoretical estimated energies. The limit stresses/strains applied on layered
OPV cells during service condition are estimated using critical values of the
measured interfacial adhesion. The results obtained are, therefore, explained to
improve the design of reliable OPV cells.