Plasmonics for photovoltaic applications

Pillai, Supriya; Green, Martin A.

doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2010.02.046

Cited by 443 publications

(272 citation statements)

References 39 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

272

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…14 The particle shape, size, distance from the semiconductor and refractive index of the medium could all affect the coupling efficiency. 3,11,[15][16][17] Nanospheres are the most commonly used scattering centers. Figure 4a and 4b show the normalized scattering cross section of spherical particles as a function of wavelength and particle size in both air and Si.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Figure 4a and 4b show the normalized scattering cross section of spherical particles as a function of wavelength and particle size in both air and Si. 17 The plasmonic resonance exhibits an obvious redshift effect in silicon (which has a higher refractive index compared with air). In addition, the resonance peaks redshift and broaden with increasing particle sizes.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Metallic nanostructures for light trapping in energy-harvesting devices

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Solar energy is abundant and environmentally friendly. Light trapping in solar-energy-harvesting devices or structures is of critical importance. This article reviews light trapping with metallic nanostructures for thin film solar cells and selective solar absorbers. The metallic nanostructures can either be used in reducing material thickness and device cost or in improving light absorbance and thereby improving conversion efficiency. The metallic nanostructures can contribute to light trapping by scattering and increasing the path length of light, by generating strong electromagnetic field in the active layer, or by multiple reflections/absorptions. We have also discussed the adverse effect of metallic nanostructures and how to solve these problems and take full advantage of the light-trapping effect. INTRODUCTIONThe conversion of solar energy to electricity or heat might be the ultimate means to help solve the energy crisis when hydrocarbon resources such as coal and other fossil fuels cannot satisfy the energy demand. Solar energy is abundant, ,5000 times our current power consumption.1 The use of solar energy can also reduce the environmental problems caused by the consumption of fossil fuels by reducing dusts, noxious gases and greenhouse gases, as well as the resulting haze, acid rain and global warming. To date, the worldwide installed capacity of solar harvesting devices is ,60 GW in electric energy and ,300 GW in thermal energy, 2 with an annual rapid increase. For the existing technology, there is room for further improvement by either enhancing the light absorption or avoiding loss of electricity or heat after absorption. Recently, new advances in nanotechnology and material fabrication methods have resulted in an emerging field of plasmonics by properly introducing metallic nanostructures to manipulate light, enabling light trapping in active layers and thereby enhancing the performance of energy-harvesting devices.3 In addition, certain highly absorbing surfaces or structures with broadband absorption promising to extend the working wavelength of the solar energy spectrum (Figure 1) have been realized. The light-trapping effect, however, allows the thickness of materials and the costs of solar cells to decrease, which in turn benefits electricity collection when the minor carrier diffusion length in the active layer is not sufficiently long.In this review, we focus on light trapping induced by metallic nanostructures for solar energy collection. Corresponding applications are not only for photovoltaics, but also for solar thermal. In fact, solar thermal has a market with profit even higher than photovoltaics, yet

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Metallic nanostructures for light trapping in energy-harvesting devices

et al. 2014

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The so-called thick solar cells suffer also strongly from two technical problems: high price per watt due to the high quantity semiconductors required as absorption layers and direct relationship between semiconductor thickness and junk recombination, because of short electron-hole diffusion length. 1,2,4,5 Decreasing the wafer thickness, as mentioned, leads to a poorer sunlight absorption. Over the past 30 years, confining the light by dielectric waveguides in thin solar cells in order to enhance the light absorption has been of great interest.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Plasmonic excitation-assisted optical and electric enhancement in ultra-thin solar cells: the influence of nano-strip cross section

2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The effects of Ag nano-strips with triangle, rectangular and trapezoid cross sections on the optical absorption, generation rate, and short-circuit current density of ultra-thin solar cells were investigated. By putting the nano-strips as a grating structure on the top of the solar cells, the waveguide, surface plasmon polariton (SPP), and localized surface plasmon (LSP) modes, which are excited with the assistance of nano-strips, were evaluated in TE and TM polarizations. The results show, firstly, the TM modes are more influential than TE modes in optical and electrical properties enhancement of solar cell, because of plasmonic excitations in TM mode. Secondly, the trapezoid nano-strips reveal noticeable impact on the optical absorption, generation rate, and short-circuit current density enhancement than triangle and rectangular ones. In particular, the absorption of long wavelengths which is a challenge in ultra-thin solar cells is significantly improved by using Ag trapezoid nano-strips.

show abstract

“…Both shape and size of metal nanoparticles are key factors determining the incoupling efficiency [Pillai & Green, 2010]. This is illustrated in Fig.14a, which shows that smaller particles, with their effective dipole moment located closer to the semiconductor layer, couple a large fraction of the incident light into the underlying semiconductor because of enhanced near-field coupling.…”

Section: Surface Plasmons [Atwater and Polman 2010; Pillai Et Al 2007]mentioning

confidence: 99%