Abstract
The evolution of nanotechnology has provided a better understanding of light-matter interaction at a subwavelength scale and has led to the development of new devices that can possibly play an important role in future applications. Nanoantennas are an example of such devices, having gained interest in recent years for their application in the field of photovoltaic technology at visible and infrared wavelengths, due to their ability to capture and confine energy of free-propagating waves. This property results from a unique phenomenon called extraordinary optical transmission (EOT) where, due to resonant behavior, light passing through subwavelength apertures in a metal film can be transmitted in greater orders of magnitude than that predicted by classical theories. During this study, 2D and 3D models featuring a metallic nanoantenna array with subwavelength holes coupled to a photovoltaic cell are simulated using a Finite Element Tool. These models present with slight variations between them, such as the position of the nanoantenna within the structure, the holes’ geometry and the type of cell, in order to verify how its optical response is affected. The results demonstrate that the coupling of nanoantennas to solar cells can be advantageous and improve the capture and absorption of radiation. It is concluded that aperture nanoantennas may concentrate radiation, meaning that is possible to tune the electric field peak and adjust absorption on the main layers. This may be important because it might be possible to adjust solar cell performance to the global regions’ solar spectrum by only adjusting the nanoantenna parameters.
Highlights
Energy demand has been steadily increasing since the Industrial Revolution and should continue to increase, accompanied by global population growth [1,2,3,4,5]
The 2D and 3D simulations of different solar cell structures, with and without a nanoantenna, allowed the observation and assessment of how the optical response of such structures is influenced by the presence of the nanoantenna, and if extraordinary optical transmission (EOT) occurs
Based on 2D and 3D results regarding the Amorphous Silicon (a-Si) solar cell structure, it can be confirmed that EOT does always occur when an aluminum nanoantenna is present in the solar cell structure, which implies that these structures are able to transmit more light than its incidence
Summary
Energy demand has been steadily increasing since the Industrial Revolution and should continue to increase, accompanied by global population growth [1,2,3,4,5]. Renewable energy use is increasing globally, as of 2018 these sources of energy only accounted for less than 20% of the world’s primary energy consumption [5] Fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas still meet much of the world’s energy demands [3,4,5]. Photovoltaic (PV) cells can directly convert the power associated with solar radiation into DC electric power at a relatively low cost (in comparison with other renewable energies, such as hydro or wind) [3,4]. The connection between nanotechnology and photovoltaics is going to be studied through numerical simulation of a 2D and 3D nanoantenna structure coupled to the solar cells. It could be possible to obtain different absorption spectra using the same materials
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