An X-ray fluorescence study on the segregation of Cs and I in an inverted organic solar cell

X-ray near-total-reflection fluorescence reveals that in multilayers of the inverted organic solar cell (ITO/CsI/P3HT:PCBM-based) Cs diffuses into the organic layer and iodide diffuses into the ITO. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry measurements, which integrate elemental concentration across the whole multilayer structure, indicate that the Cs:I ratio remains 1:1 confirming there is no loss of iodine from the sample. Iodide diffusion to the bulk ITO layer is also found in a similarly prepared ITO/NaI/P3HT:PCBM multilayer structure. Our results are consistent with recent XPS measurements which show that the Cs:I ratio at the ITO/CsI surface exceeds 8:1, and rationalize this observation.