Plasmonic nanostructures for enhanced performance of microcrystalline silicon solar cells

Uttam K. Kumawat; Akanksha Ninawe; Kamal Kumar; Anuj Dhawan

doi:10.1117/12.2546804

3 March 2020 Plasmonic nanostructures for enhanced performance of microcrystalline silicon solar cells

Uttam K. Kumawat, Akanksha Ninawe, Kamal Kumar, Anuj Dhawan

Proceedings Volume 11275, Physics, Simulation, and Photonic Engineering of Photovoltaic Devices IX; 112751E (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2546804
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2020, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Due to the high cost of conventional crystalline silicon solar cells, researchers have been attracted towards the development of thin-film Si solar cells, where a several hundred nanometers thick amorphous Si (a-Si) or microcrystalline Si (μc-Si) solar cell layer is deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). This paper presents the use of plasmonic nanostructures in μc-Si p-i-n junction thin-film solar cells to increase the absorption in a broad spectral range. Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation results demonstrate a broadband absorption enhancement in these solar cells due to plasmonic nanostructures. The enhancement in the absorption is attributed to the enhanced electromagnetic fields in the active layer due to the excitation of surface plasmon modes and photonic Bloch modes at multiple wavelengths. Moreover, the plasmonic nanostructures lead to a significant enhancement in the shortcircuit current density of the μc-Si thin-film solar cell.

Citation Download Citation

Uttam K. Kumawat, Akanksha Ninawe, Kamal Kumar, and Anuj Dhawan "Plasmonic nanostructures for enhanced performance of microcrystalline silicon solar cells", Proc. SPIE 11275, Physics, Simulation, and Photonic Engineering of Photovoltaic Devices IX, 112751E (3 March 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2546804

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KEYWORDS

Solar cells

Plasmonics

Absorption

Nanostructures

Finite-difference time-domain method

Thin film solar cells

Microcrystalline materials

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