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Integration of Light Trapping Silver Nanostructures in Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Silicon Solar Cells by Transfer Printing
Published on: November 9, 2015
Enhancing solar cells with localized plasmons in nanovoids.
N N Lal1, B F Soares, J K Sinha
1Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Optics Express
|July 1, 2011
Summary
Localized plasmon resonances in silver nanovoids significantly boost solar cell efficiency by 3.5x in external quantum efficiency and 4x in power conversion efficiency, offering a new path for plasmonic photovoltaics.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Renewable Energy
Background:
- Solar cell performance is limited by light absorption and charge extraction.
- Plasmonic nanostructures offer a route to enhance light harvesting in solar cells.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the use of localized plasmon resonances in nanovoid arrays for solar cell enhancement.
- To develop a novel plasmonic photovoltaic enhancement strategy using nanovoids.
Main Methods:
- Electrochemical templating of large-area silver nanovoid substrates using self-assembled colloidal spheres.
- Fabrication of organic solar cells on top of the nanovoid structures.
- Characterization using angularly-resolved spectra to identify plasmon modes.
- Theoretical modeling of light intensity distribution within nanovoids.
Main Results:
- Localized plasmon resonances in nanovoid arrays enhanced external quantum efficiency by 3.5 times.
- Overall power conversion efficiency of solar cells was improved by a factor of four.
- Demonstrated strong localized Mie plasmon modes within the nanovoids.
- Theoretical modeling indicated spatial variations in light intensity within the void region.
Conclusions:
- Nanovoid structures represent a new class of plasmonic photovoltaic enhancement through localized plasmon-enhanced absorption.
- The findings suggest a potential pathway towards Third Generation plasmonic photovoltaics.
- The electrochemical templating method allows for scalable fabrication of these plasmonic nanostructures.
