Plasmonic nanogratings on MIM and SOI thin-film solar cells: comparison and optimization of optical and electric enhancements

Abstract

In this work, Ag nanogratings comprised of arrays of nanostrips with three different cross sections of triangular, rectangular, and trapezoidal shape were considered and put at the top of the thin-film metal-insulator-metal (MIM) and semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) solar cells. Then, the optical absorption and the short-circuit current density (J_SC) enhancement (relative to a bare cell) were calculated and compared. In addition, the best strip cross section among three types of cross sections and the optimum grating period were found. The results showed that for the transverse electric (TE) mode, only the waveguide modes were excited inside the Si active layer with the assistance of Ag nanogratings. For the transverse magnetic (TM) mode, the waveguide as well as the localized surface plasmonic (LSP) modes were excited. The LSP modes, which were excited at the longer wavelengths centered on ∼600 nm, led to an additional and consequently a larger J_SC enhancement. Finally, among the various types of plasmonic SOI and MIM solar cells, a SOI cell with a 300 nm grating period, comprised of rectangular nanostrips, showed a 40% enhancement in J_SC, which is the highest possible value achieved in this work.

Design of high performance and low resistive loss graphene solar cells

“…In the recent years, applying dielectric photonic crystals [3] and periodically patterned metallic structures [11] as back reflectors in order to enhance the electromagnetic energy intensity even beyond 4n 2 limit has become a popular trend. Using the plasmonic excitations in the ultra-thin solar cells, one can simultaneously increase the efficiency of solar cells and reduce the cost of film deposition [1,4,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18] which are two favorite factors in experimental research. Using perovskite-hybrid plasmonic nanostructured, Zhang et al have explained the role of plasmonic coupling and photonic cavities in enhancing light-matter interactions and manipulating carrier dynamics [19].…”

“…To evaluate systematically the cell's performance, the optical absorption and short-circuit current density enhancements and resistive (Ohmic) loss of G-SiO 2 -Si-SiO 2 solar cells are calculated and compared with those of Ag nanostrips incorporated SOI (Ag-SiO 2 -Si-SiO 2 ) cells. For Ag-SiO 2 -Si-SiO 2 solar cells, the optimum design which has been reported previously [17,18] is used. For G-SiO 2 -Si-SiO 2 cells, width and the period of GNRs, which are two key parameters in the performance of proposed structure, are optimized.…”

Plasmonic Mach-Zehnder Interferometers Based on Air-Gap Couplers

“…The potential of using MDM plasmonic waveguides in many optical devices has been explored. MDM plasmonic waveguides have been used in several applications, including power splitters [5][6][7][8][9][10][11], Mach-Zehnder interferometers [12][13][14][15], filters [16][17][18][19], switches [20][21][22][23], sensors [24][25][26][27], wavelength division multiplexers [28][29][30], solar cells [31][32][33][34], and photovoltaic devices [35][36][37][38]. To design high-performance nanoscale plasmonic devices and increase the information processing speed, hybrid integration of plasmonic and CDW is required.…”

Unlocking Optical Coupling Tunability in Epsilon‐Near‐Zero Metamaterials Through Liquid Crystal Nanocavities

“…[2] Multilayer resonators also allow to efficiently manipulate electromagnetic waves in specific spectral ranges and enable optimal solutions for device miniaturization, [19] fabrication of perfect absorbers for structural coloring in the VIS-NIR range, [20] and high photovoltaic conversion. [21] Furthermore, photon confinement in optical nanocavities enables an efficient control of light-matter coupling in fundamental physics studies of single quantum objects [22] and correlated polaritons, [23,24] as well as applications in quantum optical devices, and sensors. [25][26][27][28][29] In this context, there is high demand of devices that can be reconfigured and adapted to various emerging technologies, especially in the automotive and telecommunication sectors.…”