Efficiency enhancement of a-Si solar cells by nonresonant plasmonic aluminium nanocubes

Abstract

We examine the enhancement effects of switching from traditional silver nanoparticles (NPs), which are resonant within the solar spectrum, to nonresonant aluminium NPs, which have surface plasmon resonances outside the solar spectrum, on light absorption in thin-film amorphous silicon (a-Si) solar cells. We show that the Al nanocube is an excellent choice for light trapping on a-Si, yielding a 13.8% increase in absorbed power over a cell with Ag nanocubes and a 38% increase over a bare cell.