Enhancement of optical absorption in silicon thin-film solar cells with metal nanoparticles

Bo Shi; Wei Wang; Xueqing Yu; Lili Yang; Yuanpei Xu

doi:10.1117/1.OE.56.5.057105

17 May 2017 Enhancement of optical absorption in silicon thin-film solar cells with metal nanoparticles

Bo Shi, Wei Wang, Xueqing Yu, Lili Yang, Yuanpei Xu

Author Affiliations +

Optical Engineering, Vol. 56, Issue 5, 057105 (May 2017). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.56.5.057105

Abstract

Light trapping structures are a promising method of improving the efficiency of solar cells. We focused on the plasmonic thin-film solar cell. A structure is proposed consisting of an indium tin oxide layer with embedded metal nanoparticles, a hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) layer, and an aluminum (Al) layer. The finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) method was used to calculate the absorption characteristics of the a-Si:H thin-film solar cells containing nanoparticles. By arranging the material, size, and locations of metal nanoparticles to maximize the scattering and minimize absorption of nanoparticles themselves, the optical absorption in the solar cell is significantly enhanced.

Citation Download Citation

Bo Shi, Wei Wang, Xueqing Yu, Lili Yang, and Yuanpei Xu "Enhancement of optical absorption in silicon thin-film solar cells with metal nanoparticles," Optical Engineering 56(5), 057105 (17 May 2017). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.56.5.057105

Received: 27 February 2017; Accepted: 1 May 2017; Published: 17 May 2017

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