Sara Magdi

Broadband absorption enhancement in organic solar cells using refractory plasmonic ceramics

Abstract. We theoretically demonstrate absorption enhancement in organic solar cells (OSC) due to the incorporation of titanium nitride and zirconium nitride plasmonic nanostructures. Localizing light using plasmonic nanostructures has the potential to overcome the absorption limitations of OSC and improve their power conversion efficiency. Thus, using C-MOS compatible, cheap, and abundant materials, such as refractory plasmonics, for light trapping could facilitate their commercialization. This work shows that transition metal nitrides have comparable performance to Ag when placed as the nanopatterned back electrode. In addition, the effect of adding TiN nanoparticles and nanowires inside the active layer has been analyzed.

One step fabrication of Silicon nanocones with wide-angle enhanced light absorption

We report the fabrication of an array of random Silicon nanocones using a KrF excimer laser. A 370 nm thick amorphous Silicon layer deposited on a glass substrate was used in the process. The fabricated nanocones showed a large and broadband absorption enhancement over the entire visible wavelength range. An enhancement up to 350% is measured at λ = 650 nm. Additionally, the laser irradiation caused the nanocones to crystallize. The effect of changing the laser parameters (i.e. energy density, time, and frequency) on the morphology and the absorption is studied and compared. Wide-angle anti-reflective properties have been observed for the fabricated nanocones with less than 10% reflection for angles up to 60°. The major limitation of amorphous silicon thin film solar cells is the reduced absorption. This problem could be solved if light is trapped efficiently inside the thin film without the need of increasing the film thickness. The random array of nanocones presented in this work showed a substantial increase in absorption over a wide angle, were fabricated at a low cost and are easily scalable. This technique offers a fast approach which could significantly help in overcoming the absorption limitation.

Optical analysis of Si-tapered nanowires/low band gap polymer hybrid solar cells

Three dimensional optical simulations are performed to assess the design requirements for obtaining highly efficient tapered Si nanowires (TSiNWs)/polymer hybrid solar cells. To avoid the complex fabrication processes of Si p-n junctions, the TSiNWs are coated with a conductive polymer forming a large junction area between both materials and making the charge separation more efficient. The addition of PEDOT:PSS has been reported previously where the absorption occur in the Si only. P3HT:PCBM has been also used on top of Si nanostructures to enhance the absorption. However, the maximum absorption of P3HT and Si are in the same range resulting in competence between the absorption of each material. Thus, thick Si substrates are still needed to achieve decent absorption in these devices. We report a broadband absorption spanning the whole visible and near infra-red range of the solar spectrum with only 5 Microns TSiNWs coated with a low band gap polymer. The tapered structure provides efficient light trapping for the incident light enhancing the absorption in the short wavelengths. The addition of the low band gap polymer (pBBTDPP2:PCBM) significantly enhanced the absorption at long wavelengths (700-900nm). Thus, broadband absorption is attained without the need of thick Si substrates. Full 3D optical simulations were performed to optimize the polymer thickness and compare between the enhancements in absorption for different polymers.

Broadband absorption enhancement in amorphous Si solar cells using metal gratings and surface texturing

The efficiencies of thin film amorphous silicon (a-Si) solar cells are restricted by the small thickness required for efficient carrier collection. This thickness limitations result in poor light absorption. In this work, broadband absorption enhancement is theoretically achieved in a-Si solar cells by using nanostructured back electrode along with surface texturing. The back electrode is formed of Au nanogratings and the surface texturing consists of Si nanocones. The results were then compared to random texturing surfaces. Three dimensional finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations are used to design and optimize the structure. The Au nanogratings achieved absorption enhancement in the long wavelengths due to sunlight coupling to surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) modes. High absorption enhancement was achieved at short wavelengths due to the decreased reflection and enhanced scattering inside the a-Si absorbing layer. Optimizations have been performed to obtain the optimal geometrical parameters for both the nanogratings and the periodic texturing. In addition, an enhancement factor (i.e. absorbed power in nanostructured device/absorbed power in reference device) was calculated to evaluate the enhancement obtained due to the incorporation of each nanostructure.

Multifunctional TiN nanowires for wide band absorption in organic solar cells

One of the key issues limiting the efficiency of organic solar cells is the narrow absorption band of the polymer active layer. Thus, a huge amount of the incident sunlight is lost. Here, a new structure is theoretically proposed achieving wide band absorption in organic solar cells using multifunctional TiN nanowires. In addition to the plasmonic properties of TiN, it was reported that TiN has the capability to produce free carriers upon light absorption. Thus, the structure is based on the ability to collect these photo-generated carriers. Using the combination of TiN and polymer significantly broadened the absorption band due to the ability of TiN to localize light inside P3HT:PC70BM in addition to its ability to absorb light at longer wavelengths. The optimized structure enhanced the absorbed power by 95% and the optimal short circuit current by 123% over the same structure without the TiN nanowires. Electric field distribution is studied at different wavelengths to gain further insight on the localization of light inside the structure.

Publisher’s note: Broadband absorption enhancement in organic solar cells using refractory plasmonic ceramics

American University in Cairo, Department of Physics, AUC Avenue New Cairo, Cairo, EgyptThis article [J. Nanophoton. 11(4), 046001 (Jan 6, 2017)] originally was published with anincorrect citation identifier (CID). It was republished with a corrected CID on 11 January 2017.The updated citation is shown below:S. Magdi et al., “Broadband absorption enhancement in organic solar cells using refractoryplasmonic ceramics,” J. Nanophoton. 11(1), 016001 (2017).

Organic photovoltaic with various plasmonic nanostructures using titanium nitride

We demonstrate absorption improvement in organic solar cells due to the incorporation of TiN nanopatterned back electrode. Organic solar cells (OSC) have already reached 10% power conversion efficiency (PCE), which made them comparable to commercial solar cells. Localizing light using plasmonic nanostructures has the potential to overcome OSC absorption limitations and thus further improve their PCE. Using a C-MOS compatible, cheap and abundant material for light trapping could facilitate the commercialization of OSC. This work theoretically shows that the replacement of Ag nanopatterned back electrode with TiN in plasmonic OSC gives enhanced performance. In addition, the incorporation of TiN nanoparticles inside the active layer has been studied and analyzed.