Light management for conjugated polymer-based photovoltaics

Three case studies that demonstrate the effective application of plasmonic nanoparticles for light harvesting in thin film organic conjugated polymer active absorber layers and tandem conjugated polymer/silicon films are reviewed. First, template deposition of Au nanoparticles directly on top of ultra-thin (≤ 50 nm) poly(3-hexylthiophene), P3HT, films on planar Ag enables gap nanoantenna modes to occur in the P3HT film which increase and broaden the P3HT absorption band. Secondly, the application of nanostructured plasmonic electrodes for bulk-heterojunction photovoltaic devices is shown to promote light trapping and increased red-edge photocurrent. Finally, our recent study whereby Ag nanoparticle arrays are placed at a P3HT/Si interface is summarized. This configuration can increase light trapping by scattering in both P3HT and Si over complementary wavelength ranges.