Fabrication of Ag Nanoparticles Embedded in Al:ZnO as Potential Light-Trapping Plasmonic Interface for Thin Film Solar Cells

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

doi:10.1007/s11468-013-9562-6

Cited by 24 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Therefore, the exploitation of LSPR of Ag and Au nanostructures is one of the key approaches to increase the optical absorption, by light trapping, in thin film Si solar cells, organic solar cells, and new-generation solar cells [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 13 , 14 ]. So, several schemes for functional devices incorporating plasmonic Ag and Au nanoparticles were recently proposed [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. Generally, this can be achieved by the scattering of light, by the metal nanoparticles, at the cell’s interfaces, either by transmission at the top interfaces or by reflection at the rear ones [ 34 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Light Scattering Calculations for Spherical Metallic Nanoparticles (Ag, Au) Coated by TCO (AZO, ITO, PEDOT:PSS) Shell

Ruffino

2021

Micromachines

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Ag and Au nanostructures became increasingly interesting due to their localized surface plasmon resonance properties. These properties can be successfully exploited in order to enhance the light trapping in solar cell devices by appropriate light scattering phenomena. In solar cell applications, the Ag or Au nanoparticles are, usually, supported on or embedded in a thin transparent conductive oxide layer, mainly AZO and ITO for inorganic solar cells and PEDOT:PSS for organic solar cells. However, the light scattering properties strongly depend on the shape and size of the metal nanostructures and on the optical properties of the surrounding environment. Therefore, the systems need to be well designed to maximize scattering and minimize the light absorption within the metal nanoparticles. In this regard, this work reports, in particular, results concerning calculations, by using the Mie theory, of the angle-dependent light scattering intensity (I(θ)) for spherical Ag and Au nanoparticles coated by a shell of AZO or ITO or PEDOT:PSS. I(θ) and scattering efficiency Qscatt for the spherical core–shell nanoparticles are calculated by changing the radius R of the spherical core (Ag or Au) and the thickness d of the shell (AZO, ITO, or PEDOT:PSS). For each combination of core–shell system, the evolution of I(θ) and Qscatt with the core and shell sizes is drawn and comparisons between the various types of systems is drawn at parity of core and shell sizes. For simplicity, the analysis is limited to spherical core–shell nanoparticles so as to use the Mie theory and to perform analytically exact calculations. However, the results of the present work, even if simplified, can help in establishing the general effect of the core and shell sizes on the light scattering properties of the core–shell nanoparticles, essential to prepare the nanoparticles with desired structure appropriate to the application.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Light Scattering Calculations for Spherical Metallic Nanoparticles (Ag, Au) Coated by TCO (AZO, ITO, PEDOT:PSS) Shell

Ruffino

2021

Micromachines

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“…TCEs can be fabricated from various materials such as conductive nanowires, metal grids, or hybrid structures with dielectrics, albeit, transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) are, historically, the most commonly used TCEs in optoelectronic devices . Although ITO has superior electrical and optical properties as compared with other TCOs such as aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO), fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO), etc, because of indium scarcity, utilization of ITO layer increases the fabrication cost of solar cells. In order to compete with other energy sources, decreasing the fabrication cost of solar cells is one of the main focuses of photovoltaics (PVs) community in order to minimize the cost/KWh ratio.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

MoO _x /Ag/MoO _x multilayers as hole transport transparent conductive electrodes for n‐type crystalline silicon solar cells

et al. 2020

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Summary Substitution of highly doped layers with conventional transparent conductive electrodes as carrier collecting and selective contacts in conventional crystalline silicon (c‐Si) solar cell configurations is crucial in increasing affordability of solar cells by lowering material costs. In this study, oxide/metal/oxide (OMO) multilayers featuring molybdenum oxide (MoOx) and silver (Ag) thin films are developed by thermal evaporation technique, as dopant‐free hole transport transparent conductive electrodes (HTTCEs) for n‐type c‐Si solar cells. Semidopant‐free asymmetric heterocontact (semi‐DASH) solar cells on n‐type c‐Si utilizing OMO multilayers are fabricated. The effect of outer MoOx layer thickness and Ag deposition rate on the photovoltaic characteristics of the fabricated semi‐DASH solar cells are investigated. A comparison of front side pyramid textured and flat surface solar cells is performed to optimize the optical and electrical properties. Highest efficiency of 9.3% ± 0.2% is achieved in a pyramid textured semi‐DASH c‐Si solar cell with 15/10/30 nm of HTTCE structure.

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“…The silver nanoparticles were fabricated by dewetting of sputtered 15 nm thick Ag films in N 2 environment at 220 o C for one hour as was described previously [14]. The nanoparticles were integrated to the a-Si:H absorber using SiNx spacer layers as shown in Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images and optical measurements are performed on representative samples at various processing steps. The transmittance and reflectance over the spectral range of 340-1140 nm were performed using an optical system as described previously [14]. Aluminum electrodes of standard coplanar geometry Figure 2 shows the SEM images of Ag nanoparticles dewetted at 220 o C on the three different surfaces used in this study, namely: corning glass (back interface), a-Si:H (front interface w/o spacer) and SiNx (double interface).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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Fabrication of Ag Nanoparticles Embedded in Al:ZnO as Potential Light-Trapping Plasmonic Interface for Thin Film Solar Cells

Cited by 24 publications

References 31 publications

Light Scattering Calculations for Spherical Metallic Nanoparticles (Ag, Au) Coated by TCO (AZO, ITO, PEDOT:PSS) Shell

Light Scattering Calculations for Spherical Metallic Nanoparticles (Ag, Au) Coated by TCO (AZO, ITO, PEDOT:PSS) Shell

MoO _x /Ag/MoO _x multilayers as hole transport transparent conductive electrodes for n‐type crystalline silicon solar cells

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

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Fabrication of Ag Nanoparticles Embedded in Al:ZnO as Potential Light-Trapping Plasmonic Interface for Thin Film Solar Cells

Cited by 24 publications

References 31 publications

Light Scattering Calculations for Spherical Metallic Nanoparticles (Ag, Au) Coated by TCO (AZO, ITO, PEDOT:PSS) Shell

Light Scattering Calculations for Spherical Metallic Nanoparticles (Ag, Au) Coated by TCO (AZO, ITO, PEDOT:PSS) Shell

MoO x /Ag/MoO x multilayers as hole transport transparent conductive electrodes for n‐type crystalline silicon solar cells

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

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MoO _x /Ag/MoO _x multilayers as hole transport transparent conductive electrodes for n‐type crystalline silicon solar cells