Electroabsorption studies of phthalocyanine/perylene solar cells

We report electroabsorption (EA) studies of electric fields in bilayer molecular organic solar cells made from zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) and a methyl substituted perylene pigment (MPP). We have detected an electric field at the metal/organic interface which is sensitive to the external DC bias. The interface field has a different spectral signature from that of the bulk of the two layers, which we attribute to interface species such as charge transfer-induced dipoles. The electric field is proportional to the applied bias in devices containing only ZnPc or MPP, but rectifying behavior is observed in the bilayer solar cell.