Thin film solar cells with a structure of poly(9-vinylcarbazole) and C-60 bulk heterojunction were fabricated and characterized. The effects of 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) as a hole blocking layer for the organic solar cells between active layer and metal layer were also investigated, and the optimized cell structures with PTCDA improved the short-circuit current density and fill factor up to twice values, which resulted in an increase of the conversion efficiency. Microstructure analysis was carried out by using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, which indicated the bulk nanocomposite structure Energy levels of the molecules were calculated, and the interfacial structure was discussed based on the experimental and calculated results. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.