Optical absorption enhancement in 40 nm ultrathin film silicon solar cells assisted by photonic and plasmonic modes

Presently, energy problems and environmental issues have attracted the scientific community for the development of cost-effective and high-performance solar cells. Thin film solar cells are cheaper but weak light absorption in longer wavelength has demanded an efficient light trapping scheme for the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optics communications 2016-10, Vol.377, p.65-69
Main Authors: Saravanan, S., Dubey, R.S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Harvesting
Light absorption
Photonics
Photovoltaic cells
Plasmonics
Solar cells
Surface chemistry
Thin films
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Summary:Presently, energy problems and environmental issues have attracted the scientific community for the development of cost-effective and high-performance solar cells. Thin film solar cells are cheaper but weak light absorption in longer wavelength has demanded an efficient light trapping scheme for the better harvesting of solar radiation to a maximum possibility. In this paper, we numerically explore the design efforts of an ultrathin film silicon solar cell, integrated with top dielectric and bottom metal gratings. The proposed design is influenced by the localized surface plasmon modes, surface plasmon polariton and optical resonances which leads to the optimal harvesting of sunlight within 40 nm thick absorbing layer. The optimized design of solar cell shows enhanced light absorption with cell efficiency similar to 25% at normal transverse magnetic polarization condition. Our design approach assisted by photonic and plasmonic modes is promising for the realization of new generation, low-cost ultrathin film solar cells.
ISSN:0030-4018
DOI:10.1016/j.optcom.2016.05.028