Nano-photonic and nano-plasmonic enhancements in thin film silicon solar cells

An efficient plasmonic photovoltaic structure using silicon strip-loaded geometry

“…The ∼43% external quantum efficiency of the ∼300 nm thick active layer of crystalline silicon of the proposed structure is less than that of state-of-the-art much thicker solar cells [14,15].…”

“…This technique achieves a significant absorption enhancement even without a reflective back contact, but impact of relative positions of discrete metal nano-particles and accuracy of dimensions make it quite difficult to fabricate. Additionally, photonic crystal based back reflectors have been shown to increase light absorption up to 50% in solar cells [12][13][14][15][16][17]. All these techniques improve solar cell performance to some extent at the expense of significant additional fabrication costs and difficulties.…”

Simulation study of amorphous Si solar cell with conducting anti-reflection coating and plasmonic nanostructured back reflector

“…Efficient light trapping along with effective carrier collection is the key requirement to realize the efficient performance of solar cell. The promising solution to trap the light effectively is incorporation of nano structure in the device 6,7 . The nano structures scatter the light in the active materials and increase the path length in it.…”

Plasmonic silicon solar cell based on silver nanoparticles using ultra-thin anodic aluminum oxide template

“…Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) depends largely on the nanoscale properties of the metals themselves, including the size and shape of the particles as well as the surrounding material [11][12][13][14]. This fact underlines the importance of controlling these parameters when seeking to optimize the performance of solar cells.…”