Metal cluster enhanced organic solar cells

Structural changes in gradient colloidal thin gold films deposited from aqueous solution

“…They play a major role in biotechnology, e.g. DNA scanning (Vo-Dinh et al, 1999;Dubertret et al, 2001;Bauer et al, 1999;Taton et al, 2000), in solar cells (Westphalen et al, 2000;Stenzel et al, 1995), anti-counterfeiting (Bauer et al, 2003) and optical data storage (Ditlbacher et al, 2000). These areas of research and applied science exploit the so-called 'plasmon resonance' of the noble metal nanoparticles.…”

“…The field enhancement accompanying the resonance can be exploited e.g. in solar cells to increase efficiency (Westphalen et al, 2000), in optical filters (Park & Xia, 1999) or to detect single molecules, using surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (Garell, 1989). All of these methods rely upon a nanostructured noble metal layer on top of a highly reflecting substrate.…”

Plasmon-induced photoexcitation of “hot” electrons and “hot” holes in amorphous silicon photosensitive devices containing silver nanoparticles

“…Several studies have exploited the optical properties of metal nanoparticles (NPs) for improving the performance of photoactive devices such as photodetectors, light-emitting diodes, and solar cells. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] Depending on the size, shape, and surrounding material of a metal NP, coherent collective oscillations of the quasi-free electrons of a metal NP can be excited by an incident electromagnetic wave of a specific wavelength. These collective excitations of electrons are referred to as localized surface plasmon polaritons (LSPPs).…”

“…As shown in Fig. 1, for sufficiently high energy, this so-called "hot" electron can be injected over the Schottky barrier formed by the NP-semiconductor interface (in case (i)) [5][6][7][8]25 or can directly reach the conduction band of the semiconductor (in case (ii)). This electron can then be transported by drift towards the opposite electrode of the device, thereby providing a photocurrent (Fig.…”

Photoresponse enhancement in the near infrared wavelength range of ultrathin amorphous silicon photosensitive devices by integration of silver nanoparticles

“…1,2 Enhanced photovoltaic conversion efficiencies of organic and dye-sensitized thin-film solar cells containing small metal NPs have already been demonstrated. [7][8][9] The observed increase in photocurrent is explained in terms of ͑i͒ improved light absorption in the active layer of the cell, due to the enhanced electromagnetic field in the vicinity of the NPs at the LSPP resonance or ͑ii͒ photoexcitation of electrons from the NPs to their surrounding. The positive contribution of surface plasmon polaritons ͑SPPs͒ on the photocurrent of inorganic semiconductor/metal Schottky junctions has also been reported by using the method of attenuated total reflection.…”