Enhancing Photovoltaic Performance of Plasmonic Silicon Solar Cells with ITO Nanoparticles Dispersed in SiO2 Anti-Reflective Layer.

Wen-Jeng Ho,Jheng-Jie Liu,Guan-Yu Chen

doi:10.3390/ma12101614

Abstract

In this study, we sought to enhance the photovoltaic performance of silicon solar cells by coating them (via the spin-on film technique) with a layer of SiO2 containing plasmonic indium-tin-oxide nanoparticles (ITO-NPs) of various concentrations. We demonstrated that the surface plasmon resonance absorption, surface morphology, and transmittance of the ITO-NPs dispersed in SiO2 layer at various concentrations (1–7 wt%). We also assessed the plasmonic scattering effects of ITO-NPs within a layer of SiO2 with and without a sub-layer of ITO in terms of optical reflectance, external quantum efficiency, and photovoltaic current-voltage under air mass (AM) 1.5G solar simulation. Compared to an uncoated reference silicon solar cell, applying a layer of SiO2 containing 3 wt% ITO-NPs improved efficiency by 17.90%, whereas applying the same layer over a sub-layer of ITO improved efficiency by 33.27%, due to the combined effects of anti-reflection and plasmonic scattering.

Highlights

Exploiting the immense potential of solar energy requires highly efficient photovoltaic devices
The Surface Morphology and Optical Properties of the ITO Nanoparticles Dispersed in SiO2 Layer
The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) absorption peaks of ITO-NPs were located at wavelengths of 431, 438, 446, and 449 nm at the concentration of 1, 3, 5, and 7 wt%, respectively

Summary

Introduction

Exploiting the immense potential of solar energy requires highly efficient photovoltaic devices. The plasmonic effects of nanoparticles (NPs) have been applied to the problem of light trapping in solar cells [1,2,3,4]. When metal nanoparticles made of gold (Au NPs) [8,9,10], silver (Ag NPs) [11,12,13,14], and aluminium (Al NPs) [15,16,17] are used to scatter the light, more of the light energy can be trapped (to create highly efficient solar cells). Kanehara et al reported that indium tin oxide (In2 O3 :Sn) nanoparticles (ITO-NPs) exhibited surface plasmon resonance (SPR) in the near-infrared region, with characteristics similar to those of noble metals [21].

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Results

Conclusion