Abstract
This work studies the use of gold (Au) and silver (Ag) nanoparticles in multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) and copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS) solar cells. Au and Ag nanoparticles are deposited by spin-coating method, which is a simple and low cost process. The random distribution of nanoparticles by spin coating broadens the resonance wavelength of the transmittance. This broadening favors solar cell applications. Metal shadowing competes with light scattering in a manner that varies with nanoparticle concentration. Experimental results reveal that the mc-Si solar cells that incorporate Au nanoparticles outperform those with Ag nanoparticles. The incorporation of suitable concentration of Au and Ag nanoparticles into mc-Si solar cells increases their efficiency enhancement by 5.6% and 4.8%, respectively. Incorporating Au and Ag nanoparticles into CIGS solar cells improve their efficiency enhancement by 1.2% and 1.4%, respectively. The enhancement of the photocurrent in mc-Si solar cells is lower than that in CIGS solar cells, owing to their different light scattering behaviors and material absorption coefficients.
Highlights
A surface texture that causes light scattering into a conventional solar cell is an effective means of trapping light in the semiconductor
The use of metal nanoparticle plasmonics to improve the efficiency of solar cells has been extensively studied [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16]
The use of metal nanoparticles on the surface or a nano-grating metal on the back contact is more suitable for crystalline silicon solar cells or gallium arsenide (GaAs) solar cells than the other type of solar cells
Summary
A surface texture that causes light scattering into a conventional solar cell is an effective means of trapping light in the semiconductor. The use of metal nanoparticle plasmonics to improve the efficiency of solar cells has been extensively studied [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16]. Metal nanoparticles on the surface of the semiconductor are effective in thin film solar cells. Derkacs et al demonstrated an improved transmission of electromagnetic radiation as a result of forward scattering by surface plasmon polariton modes in gold (Au) nanoparticles that were deposited above the amorphous silicon solar cells. The simplest way to enhance the solar cell efficiency is to incorporate metal nanoparticles on their surface. Scattering of light and a higher absorption coefficient than mc-Si solar cells
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