Enhanced Optical Absorption and Spectral Photocurrent in a-Si:H by Single- and Double-Layer Silver Plasmonic Interfaces

Saleh, Zaki M.; Nasser, Hisham; Özkol, Engin; Günöven, Mete; Altuntas, B.; Bek, Alpan; Turan, Raşit

doi:10.1007/s11468-013-9632-9

Cited by 17 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…When the frequency of incident light matches the collective frequency of oscillating electrons at the surfaces of metal nanoparticles, localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) characterized by a minimum in transmittance is observed [9,10]. The reduction in transmittance is caused by increased optical extinction defined as the fraction of light absorbed or scattered by the interface and calculated as 1-T-R, where T is the transmittance and R is the reflectance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fortunately, a-Si has a refractive index of about four, which is higher than that for many materials used in thin film photovoltaic devices. This advantage guarantees that in most cases light is preferentially scattered into a-Si to enhance the photocurrent [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Integration to the back of the absorber has been suggested but no credible evidence showing it is the most proper position has been offered [10,13]. The thickness of the spacer layer which plays a critical role in determining the optimum light absorption by the absorber layer, is not clearly understood [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dependence of plasmonic enhancement of photocurrent in a‐Si:H on the position and thickness of SiNx spacer layers

Saleh

Nasser

Özkol³

et al. 2015

Phys. Status Solidi C

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Plasmonic interfaces integrated to the front, back and both surfaces of photovoltaic thin films show different degrees of enhancement of light trapping. Enhancements in the spectral dependence of photocurrent normalized to the power of excitation light are used as an indicator of enhanced light trapping. In a previous study, we obtained enhancement in the spectral range of 600‐700 nm by integrating 100‐nm Ag nanoparticles to the back surface of a‐Si:H with a critical dependence on the SiNx spacer layer thickness. In this study, we compare the enhancement in photocurrent due to plasmonic interfaces integrated to the front, back and both front and back surfaces of the a‐Si:H absorber. Interfaces integrated to the back result in the largest enhancement in photocurrent while those integrated to the front give the lowest. The marginal enhancements due to two interfaces appear to be mainly due to the back interface. While plasmonics effects may not account for the total enhancement in photocurrent, it explains the relative enhancement in the spectral range of 550‐700 rather well. For all configurations, the enhancement in the spectral dependence of photocurrent is accompanied by broadening into the red of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dependence of plasmonic enhancement of photocurrent in a‐Si:H on the position and thickness of SiNx spacer layers

Saleh

Nasser

Özkol³

et al. 2015

Phys. Status Solidi C

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“…A few reports have been published on the electron transport processes of similar disordered system consisting of semiconducting materials in nanocrystalline form embedded in a glassy matrix . Recently, Saleh et al , fabricated single and double plasmonic interfaces consisting of silver nanoparticles embedded in media with different dielectric constants including SiO 2 , SiN x , and Al:ZnO by a self‐assembled dewetting technique and integrated to amorphous silicon films. In their report, the photocurrent showed an overall decrease for the samples with the interfaces.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electron transport in the plasmonic regime: Silver nanoparticles in ZnO matrix

Ghosh

Bhunia

et al. 2014

Physica Status Solidi (b)

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Silver nanoparticles were embedded in zinc oxide matrix by using sputtering-cum-evaporation technique. Particle size and metal volume fraction were tailored by varying the amount of silver in the Al-ZnO matrix. Strong surface plasmon resonance peak in the optical absorbance spectra was observed at $500 nm. Electrical conductivity was measured in the temperature range of 80-220 K when illuminated at 500 nm, and in dark to explain the observed transport processes associated with this material.

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“…We move one step further and combine both effects by fabricating plasmonic nanoparticles on textured Al:ZnO in a single light trapping interface and separated by a 20-nm SiO 2 spacer layers from the aSi:H absorber. The purpose of the SiO 2 spacer is to passivate the a-Si:H absorber and reduce possible carrier recombination induced by the AgNPs and to optimize the fraction of light preferentially scattered into a-Si:H, which is controlled primarily by the scattering cross section of the AgNPs themselves [19,23,25]. In this work, we present the great potential of AgNPs fabricated on textured Al:ZnO as an advanced light-trapping interface to enhance the photoresponse of a-Si:H as a representation of enhanced light trapping.…”

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confidence: 99%

Advanced light trapping interface for a‐Si:H thin film

Nasser

Saleh

Özkol

et al. 2015

Phys. Status Solidi C

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Surface texturing of transparent conducting oxides and plasmonic interfaces are two important techniques used separately in thin film solar cells to reduce reflection and enhance light‐trapping. In this study, we merge the effects of Al:ZnO surface texturing and Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) plasmonics in a single light‐trapping interface to investigate their combined light trapping efficiency on a‐Si:H thin film. Light scattered by this interface is optimized by placing a thin SiO2 spacer layer between AgNPs and a‐Si:H absorber layer. Our results indicate that the AgNPs embedded in SiO2 significantly enhance absorption at energies close to the band gap of a‐Si:H. Surface texturing by wet etching of Al:ZnO combined with AgNP produces the highest optical extinction of a‐Si:H thin film at the band edge. Furthermore, the measured photocurrent in a‐Si:H shows a clear increase not only at AgNPs resonance wavelength but over the entire wavelength range. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

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Enhanced Optical Absorption and Spectral Photocurrent in a-Si:H by Single- and Double-Layer Silver Plasmonic Interfaces

Cited by 17 publications

References 27 publications

Dependence of plasmonic enhancement of photocurrent in a‐Si:H on the position and thickness of SiNx spacer layers

Dependence of plasmonic enhancement of photocurrent in a‐Si:H on the position and thickness of SiNx spacer layers

Electron transport in the plasmonic regime: Silver nanoparticles in ZnO matrix

Advanced light trapping interface for a‐Si:H thin film

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