Plasmonic effect in dye-sensitized solar cells

Improvement of the absorption of the dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) through the plasmonic effect is studied by simulations and experiments. Silver nanoparticles (NPs) having different size, density, embedded in different host materials were optically simulated first. The sputtered NPs were optically characterized to prove the presence of the plasmonic effect and the shift of the resonance frequencies. Finally the NPs were integrated in the DSSCs in a compact TiO₂ layer at the TCO-active layer interface. The presence of NPs increased the quantum efficiency (QE) around 350 nm and decreased QE around main absorption peak at 550 nm.