Effect of metal nanoparticles arrangement on light absorption of solar cells

Abstract

Low silicon absorptivity is one of the important factors restricting the performance of thin-film solar cells. The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect of metal nanoparticles can enhance the light absorption of thin-film solar cells. This study is supposed to investigate the impact of the arrangement of metal nanoparticles on the absorption characteristics of solar cells. The finite difference time domain (FDTD) method was used to analyze the influence of different metal nanoparticle arrangements on the absorption characteristics under the condition of several particle sizes and metal types. The results from this study indicate that under the state of the same metal type and radius, the two arrangements of metal nanoparticles have different effects on the absorption characteristics, and the impact of the in-line distribution is better than that of the random distribution.