Spectral Absorption Depth Profile: A Step Forward to Plasmonic Solar Cell Design

Abstract

Absorption depth profile, a deterministic and key factor that defines the quality of excitons generation rate in optoelectronic devices, is numerically predicted using finite different time domain analysis. A typical model, nanoparticles array on silicon slab, was devised considering the concept of plasmonic solar cell design. The trend of spectral absorption depth profile distributions at various wavelengths of the solar spectrum, 460 nm, 540 nm, 650 nm, 815 nm, and 1100 nm, was obtained. A stronger and well-distributed absorption profile was obtained at ∼650 nm of the solar spectrum (i.e. ∼1.85 eV, c-Si bandgap), although the absorbing layer was affected more than a half micron depth at shorter wavelengths. Considering the observations obtained from this simulation, we have shown a simple two-step method in fabricating ultra-pure silver (Ag) nanoparticles that can be used as plasmonic nanoscatterers in a thin film solar cell. The morphology and elemental analysis of as-fabricated Ag nanoparticles was confirmed by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and FESEM-coupled electron diffraction spectroscopy. The size of the as-fabricated Ag nanoparticles was found to range from 50 nm to 150 nm in diameter. Further investigations on structural and optical properties of the as-fabricated specimen were carried out using ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) absorption, photoluminesce, and x-ray diffraction (XRD). Preferential growth of ZnO along {002} was confirmed by XRD pattern that was more intense and broadened at increasing annealing temperatures. The lattice parameter c was found to increase, whereas grain size increased with increasing annealing temperature. The optical bandgap was also observed to decrease from 3.31 eV to 3.25 eV at increasing annealing temperatures through UV–Vis measurements. This parallel investigation on optical properties by simulation is in line with experimental studies and, in fact, facilitates devising optimum process cost for efficient thin film solar cell design, as well as light trapping using plasmonic nanoscatterers incorporated within the active layer.