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Updated: May 31, 2026

Polycrystalline Silicon Thin-film Solar cells with Plasmonic-enhanced Light-trapping
Published on: July 2, 2012
Bridging electromagnetic and carrier transport calculations for three-dimensional modelling of plasmonic solar cells
Xiaofeng Li1, Nicholas P Hylton, Vincenzo Giannini
1Blackett Laboratory, Department of Physics, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK. xfl_79@yahoo.com.cn
Abstract:
We report three-dimensional modelling of plasmonic solar cells in which electromagnetic simulation is directly linked to carrier transport calculations. To date, descriptions of plasmonic solar cells have only involved electromagnetic modelling without realistic assumptions about carrier transport, and we found that this leads to considerable discrepancies in behaviour particularly for devices based on materials with low carrier mobility. Enhanced light absorption and improved electronic response arising from plasmonic nanoparticle arrays on the solar cell surface are observed, in good agreement with previous experiments. The complete three-dimensional modelling provides a means to design plasmonic solar cells accurately with a thorough understanding of the plasmonic interaction with a photovoltaic device.
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Calculation of Electric Flux
Carrier Transport
Drift Current:
The drift of charge carriers is started by an external electric field (E). Charged particles, such as electrons and holes, experience an acceleration between collisions with lattice atoms. For electrons, this results in a drift velocity (vd) given by: