Open AccessIncident angle dependence of absorption enhancement in plasmonic solar cells
Author(s) -
Meng Yang,
Zhengping Fu,
Lin Feng,
Xing Zhu
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.19.00a763
Subject(s) - plasmonic solar cell , materials science , optics , solar cell , absorption (acoustics) , surface plasmon , plasmon , ray , optoelectronics , range (aeronautics) , nanoparticle , polymer solar cell , nanotechnology , physics , composite material
The enhancement of solar light absorption in a solar cell is a challenging issue. In this article we show that in a thin-film silicon solar cell covered with silver nanoparticles on the surface, the absorption of the incident light can be particularly enhanced at certain angular range and wavelength. Such absorption enhancements are associated with the resonant localized surface plasmon (LSP) modes of the nanoparticle and nanoparticle-induced local Fabry-Perot (FP) modes. Our simulations suggest that the spectral shift of the LSP modes due to changing the incident angle leads to an incident-angle-sensitive absorption enhancement of the solar cell. Selecting the incident angle in a well-defined range of 0° to 35° is essential for optimizing the performance of a thin-film solar cell.