Enhancing solar cells with localized plasmons in nanovoids

Lal, Niraj N.; Soares, B.F.; Sinha, J. K.; Huang, Fumin; Mahajan, Sumeet; Bartlett, Philip N.; Greenham, Neil C.; Baumberg, Jeremy J.

doi:10.1364/oe.19.011256

Cited by 75 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Nanoscale gold-void arrays possess various plasmon modes with significant field enhancement at the cavity voids and rims. 17 By tuning the dimensions, the GNVAs exhibit spectrally narrow and wide-angle resonances throughout the visible and near-infrared regimes, which drives applications in surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), [18][19][20] photovoltaics, 21 and sensing. 22 Here we report a dramatic enhancement of the light-matter interaction in the graphene-covered GNVAs with the aid of strongly localized optical fields generated by the GNVAs.…”

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confidence: 99%

Enhanced Light–Matter Interactions in Graphene-Covered Gold Nanovoid Arrays

et al. 2013

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The combination of graphene with noble-metal nanostructures is currently being explored for strong light-graphene interaction enhanced by plasmons. We introduce a novel hybrid graphene-metal system for studying light-matter interactions with gold-void nanostructures exhibiting resonances in the visible range. Strong coupling of graphene layers to the plasmon * To whom correspondence should be addressed † DTU Fotonik ‡ CNG ¶ Fudan University § DTU Nanotech CINF 1 modes of the nanovoid arrays results in significant frequency shifts of the underlying plasmon resonances, enabling more than 30% absolute light absorption in a single layer of graphene and up to 700-fold enhancement of the Raman response of the graphene. These new perspectives enable us to verify the presence of graphene on gold-void arrays and the enhancement even allows us to accurately quantify the number of layers. Experimental observations are further supported by numerical simulations and perturbation-theory analysis. The graphene gold-void platform is beneficial for sensing of molecules and placing R6G dye molecules on top of the graphene, we observe a strong enhancement of the R6G Raman fingerprints. These results pave the way toward advanced substrates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) with potential for unambiguous single-molecule detection on the atomically well-defined layer of graphene.Graphene is an atomic monolayer formed by carbon hexagons, whose extraordinary electrical and optical properties have led to a range of promising optoelectronic devices, 1-3 such as photodetectors, 4 optical modulators, 5 and ultra-fast lasers. 6 However, all such devices suffer from the inherently weak interaction between pristine graphene and light (2.3% light absorption at normal incidence), therefore imposing substantial challenges and restrictions for many electro-optical and all-optical applications. 7,8 Doped graphene nanostructures which support surface plasmons in the teraherz and infrared regions offer an exciting route to increase the light-graphene interaction by confining the optical fields below the diffraction limit. 9-13 However, graphene is less attractive when the interband loss becomes large, and it effectively mimics a dielectric material in the visible and near-infrared frequencies. 14 One alternative way to enhance the light-graphene interaction in short wavelengths is the combination of graphene with conventional plasmonic nanostructures based on noble metals. 15 These graphene-plasmonic hybrid structures could be beneficial for both fields of investigation: first of all, graphene can influence the optical response of plasmonic structures leading to graphene-based tunable plasmonics, 16 and in turn, plasmonic nanostructures can dramatically enhance the local electric field, leading to strong light absorption and Raman signature of graphene layers.In this Letter, a novel platform based on graphene-covered gold nanovoid arrays (GNVAs) is 2 proposed to enhance the light-matter interaction in graphene-plasmonic hybrid str...

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confidence: 99%

Enhanced Light–Matter Interactions in Graphene-Covered Gold Nanovoid Arrays

et al. 2013

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“…(b) Thin film P3HT/PCBM solar cell on top of a nanobowl Ag bottom electrode. Local and surface plasmon enhancement increases the absorption in the active layer [174]. (c) Direct etching of nanocones into a glass substrate.…”

Section: Structured Electrodes From Close-packed Colloidal Monolayersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular electro deposition of metals such as Ag [174] or semiconducting polymers such as PEDOT [166] (Fig. 1(g)) were employed to generate nanobowl-like structures on top of a suitable substrate.…”

Section: Structured Electrodes From Close-packed Colloidal Monolayersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Colloidal self-assembly concepts for light management in photovoltaics

et al. 2015

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Colloidal particles show interaction with electromagnetic radiation at optical frequencies. At the same time clever colloid design and functionalization concepts allow for versatile particle assembly providing monolayers of macroscopic dimensions. This has led to a significant interest in assembled colloidal structures for light harvesting in photovoltaic devices. In particular thin-film solar cells suffer from weak absorption of incoming photons. Consequently light management using assembled colloidal structures becomes vital for enhancing the efficiency of a given device. This review aims at giving an overview of recent developments in colloid synthesis, functionalization and assembly with a focus on light management structures in photovoltaics. We distinguish between optical effects related to the single particle properties as well as collective optical effects, which originate from the assembled structures.Colloidal templating approaches open yet another dimension for controlling the interaction with light. We focus in this respect on structured electrodes that have received much attention due to their dual functionality as light harvesting systems and conductive electrodes and highlight the impact of interparticle spacing for templating.

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“…Nowadays, light scattering at textured interfaces is the most successfully used approach to enhance the J sc [2]; all recent certified efficiency records reported for thin-film silicon solar cells [3] were achieved on a textured surface. In the meantime, other more exotic approaches with high potential using elongated architectures [4][5][6][7][8], photonic crystals [9,10] or plasmonic effects [11][12][13] are under development.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental study of flat light-scattering substrates in thin-film silicon solar cells

Söderström

Bugnon

Haug

et al. 2012

Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells

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a b s t r a c tIn this work, a novel type of substrate for thin-film silicon solar cells is studied. The substrate has the advantage of being physically flat to allow the growth of cells with excellent material quality while being optically rough for enhanced light trapping that leads to high short-circuit current density. The substrate is made of rough zinc oxide (ZnO) which is grown on a flat silver reflector. The ZnO is then covered with amorphous silicon and the stack is polished to expose the tips of the pyramidal ZnO surface. The ZnO embedded in the amorphous matrix provides the desirable scattering of light while the surface onto which the cell is deposited is flat and allows for the growth of good-quality material.We present results of $ 4 mm thick microcrystalline silicon solar cells prepared on such substrates with high open-circuit voltages of 520 mV. We also demonstrate a large relative efficiency gain of 10% compared to a state-of-the-art cell which is grown directly on an optimized textured substrate.

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Enhancing solar cells with localized plasmons in nanovoids

Cited by 75 publications

References 25 publications

Enhanced Light–Matter Interactions in Graphene-Covered Gold Nanovoid Arrays

Enhanced Light–Matter Interactions in Graphene-Covered Gold Nanovoid Arrays

Colloidal self-assembly concepts for light management in photovoltaics

Experimental study of flat light-scattering substrates in thin-film silicon solar cells

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