A bulk heterojunction organic solar cell with co-planar interdigitated electrodes was fabricated and tested. The co-planar electrodes had a separation distance of 1-3 mu m and were fabricated from aluminum and nickel on a heavily oxidized silicon wafer using photolithography. The device was prepared by spin-coating MEH-PPV:PCBB in a 1:3 wt ratio with a total donor:acceptor solution concentration of 2.44%. The device demonstrated a strong photovoltaic response under AM1.5 illumination of 80 mW/cm(2) with an open circuit voltage of 0.704 V. The co-planar electrode design offers advantages in terms of electrode material selection and reliability as well as simplified device fabrication. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.