Modeling plasmonic efficiency enhancement in organic photovoltaics

Efficiency enhancement of bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells by means of the plasmonic effect is investigated by using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) optical simulations combined with analytical modeling of exciton dissociation and charge transport efficiencies. The proposed method provides an improved analysis of the cell performance compared to previous FDTD studies. The results of the simulations predict an 11.8% increase in the cell's short circuit current with the use of Ag nano-hexagons.