A photonic-plasmonic structure for enhancing light absorption in thin film solar cells
| Title | A photonic-plasmonic structure for enhancing light absorption in thin film solar cells |
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication | 2011 |
| Authors | Bhattacharya J, Chakravarty N, Pattnaik S, Slafer WD, Biswas R, Dalal VL |
| Journal Title | Applied Physics Letters |
| Volume | 99 |
| Pages | 131114 |
| Date Published | 09 |
| Type of Article | Article |
| ISBN Number | 0003-6951 |
| Accession Number | WOS:000295618000014 |
| Keywords | ENHANCEMENT, light absorption, microcrystalline silicon, nanowire, optical-absorption, phonon-plasmon interactions, photoconductivity, reflectivity, silicon, silver, solar cells, zinc compounds |
| Abstract | We describe a photonic-plasmonic nanostructure, for significantly enhancing the absorption of long-wavelength photons in thin-film silicon solar cells, with the promise of exceeding the classical 4n(2) limit for enhancement. We compare identical solar cells deposited on the photonic-plasmonic structure, randomly textured back reflectors and silver-coated flat reflectors. The state-of-the-art back reflectors, using annealed Ag or etched ZnO, had high diffuse and total reflectance. For nano-crystalline Si absorbers with comparable thickness, the highest absorption and photo-current of 21.5 mA/cm(2) was obtained for photonic-plasmonic back-reflectors. The periodic photonic plasmonic structures scatter and reradiate light more effectively than a randomly roughened surface. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3641469] |
| DOI | 10.1063/1.3641469 |
| Alternate Journal | Appl. Phys. Lett. |
