Plasmon enhanced light trapping for thin film silicon solar cells application

In this paper, the localized surface plasmon effect of gold (Au) nanoparticles deposited on the silicon nanohole (SiNH) array textured surface is studied via simulation for better light trapping purpose for thin film silicon solar cells application. The ultimate efficiency of the optimized SiNH array textured surface is increased by 27.5% with the inclusion of Au nanoparticles on its surface. The highest ultimate efficiency of the proposed geometry herein (39.67 %) is still 12.8% greater than the single layer antireflection (AR) coating of Si₃N₄ on SiNH array textured surface without Au nanoparticles. The forward scattering of incident radiation by the Au nanoparticles near their localized plasmon resonance is responsible for the strong field enhancement in the substrate and hence the higher ultimate efficiency of the solar cell.