Examining the performance of ZrN plasmonic nanostructures in organic solar cells

Abstract

Organic solar cells (OSC) offer a promising alternative to achieve highly efficient solar cells with low cost and easy fabrication. However, light absorption efficiency in OSC is limited due to the low carrier diffusion length and low exciton mobility. Plasmonic nanostructures have the ability to localize light in the organic active layer and thus increasing the light path length without increasing its physical thickness. Here, we exploited a new type of plasmonic nanostructures to achieve high and broadband absorption enhancement in organic solar cells. Zirconium Nitride (ZrN), as an example of refractory plasmonics, has one of the highest localized surface plasmon resonance quality factor. In this work, several new ZrN nanostructures such as spherical nanoshells and nanodisks are incorporated in organic solar cells. A theoretical analysis using finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations is implemented to thoroughly analyze and compare these structures. Mie scattering and absorption efficiencies are calculated to analyze these spherical nanoshells in a polymer environment. A high and broadband absorption enhancement is achieved after their incorporation in the organic solar cell.