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Plasmon-Induced Photon Manipulation by Ag Nanoparticle-Coupled Graphene Thin-Film: Light Trapping for Photovoltaics

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Abstract

This paper reports plasmon-enhanced light transmission through the Ag nanoparticle-coupled graphene thin-film deposited on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates. An experimental set-up is developed to quantify the photon enhancement due to metal nanoparticle-embedded graphene layer. The results show that a specific distribution of graphene nanosheets over Ag nanoparticle-deposited FTO glass can trap maximum normally incident light for photovoltaic applications. An enhancement of 6.35 % in the current density of silicon solar cell (kept under Ag-coated FTO glass) is observed for 30-μL graphene dispersion deposited on the FTO/Ag (3 nm). The results indicate the possibility of minimizing the reflection of incident radiation by combining plasmonic oscillations of metal nanoparticles with graphene plasmonics, which can be useful for optoelectronic devices, radiation sensors, and various types of photovoltaic cells.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support from the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP), Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar for conducting research work reported in this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Solar Energy, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar, 382007, India

    Pooja Kanade, Pankaj Yadav & Brijesh Tripathi

  2. School of Technology, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University, Gandhinagar, 382007, India

    Manoj Kumar & Brijesh Tripathi

Authors
  1. Pooja Kanade
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  2. Pankaj Yadav
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  3. Manoj Kumar
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  4. Brijesh Tripathi
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Correspondence to Brijesh Tripathi.

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Kanade, P., Yadav, P., Kumar, M. et al. Plasmon-Induced Photon Manipulation by Ag Nanoparticle-Coupled Graphene Thin-Film: Light Trapping for Photovoltaics. Plasmonics 10, 157–164 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11468-014-9790-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11468-014-9790-4

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