Plasmonic nanostructures for enhanced light concentration devoted to photovoltaic applications

In this work, we investigate the effects produced on the light absorption and scattering by silver nanoparticles, arranged in a periodic pattern, placed on the top of amorphous thin silicon (?-Si) layer. Solar conversion efficiency in thin film solar cells can be enhanced exploiting surface plasmon (SP) waves and resonances. The deposition of metal nanoparticles layers on the top of a thin film silicon solar cell can increase light absorption and consequently the energy conversion in the frequency range where the silicon intrinsic absorptance is low. Our analysis reveals that the performance of each structure depends on shape, size and thickness of the substrate, which seems to hugely affect light scattering, and in particular the back one. © 2010 IEEE.