Light-trapping performance of silicon thin-film plasmonics solar cells based on indium nanoparticles and various TiO2 space layer thicknesses

Abstract

Thin-film solar cells have the potential to substantially reduce the material cost of photovoltaic devices. However, to increase the amount of light absorbed in the thin active layer, light trapping is a critical concern in developing thin-film solar cells. In this study, we investigated the suitability of using localized surface plasmons of indium nanoparticles (In NPs) on TiO2 space layers of various thicknesses to enhance the absorption of silicon (Si) thin-film solar cells. The experimental results demonstrated how the combined effects of the incident light plasmonics scattering, surface passivation, and antireflection of In NPs affect the photovoltaic performance of the TiO2 space layer. The optical reflectance, dark current, photocurrent, and external quantum efficiency were measured and compared. Compared with bare-type Si thin-film solar cells, the proposed cells with In NPs on a 59.5-nm-thick TiO2 space layer demonstrated a short-circuit current enhancement of 45.7% (from 2.56 to 3.73 mA) and a conversion efficiency enhancement of 36.2% (from 7.56 to 10.3%).