Related papers: Mode Splitting for Efficient Plasmoinc Thin-film S…
We demonstrate an efficient double-layer light absorber by exciting plasmonic phase resonances. We show that the addition of grooves can cause mode splitting of the plasmonic waveguide cavity modes and all the new resonant modes exhibit…
We report on very high enhancement of thin layer's absorption through band-engineering of a photonic crystal structure. We realized amorphous silicon (aSi) photonic crystals, where slow light modes improve absorption efficiency. We show…
Thin film solar cells have been attractive for decades in advanced green technology platforms due to its possibilities to be integrated with buildings and on-chip applications. However, the bottleneck issues involved to consider the current…
Thin films are preferred for high photocurrent conversion efficiency, but strong photon absorption at photon energies below the bandgap (near and shortwave infrared) typically requires thicker semiconductor layers. To address this tradeoff,…
We calculate the maximal absorption enhancement obtainable by guided mode excitation in a weakly absorbing dielectric slab over wide wavelength ranges. The slab mimics thin film silicon solar cells in the low absorption regime. We consider…
The design and fabrication of a metal-dielectric-metal absorber that achieves strong absorption from the ultraviolet (UV) to the near-infrared (near-IR) spectrum are presented. The proposed nanostructure consists of a periodic titanium (Ti)…
We study a highly controllable perfect plasmonic absorber -- a thin metamaterial layer which possess balanced electric and magnetic responses in some frequency range. We show that this regime is compatible with both metal-backed variant of…
Nano-scaled metallic or dielectric structures may provide various ways to trap light into thin-film solar cells for improving the conversion efficiency. In most schemes, the textured active layers are involved into light trapping structures…
Power-conversion efficiency is a critical factor for the wider adoption of solar-cell modules. Thin-film solar cells are cheap and easy to manufacture, but their efficiencies are low compared to crystalline-silicon solar cells and need to…
Synthetic perovskites with photovoltaic properties open a new era in solar photovoltaics. Due to high optical absorption perovskite-based thin-film solar cells are usually considered as fully absorbing solar radiation on condition of ideal…
We demonstrate the optical absorption has been enhanced in the small molecule organic solar cells by employing trapezoid grating structure. The enhanced absorption is mainly attributed to both waveguide modes and surface plasmon modes,…
A 2-D photonic crystal was integrated experimentally into a thin-film crystalline-silicon solar cell of 1-{\mu}m thickness, after numerical optimization maximizing light absorption in the active material. The photonic crystal boosted the…
We report on the fabrication of two-dimensional periodic photonic nanostructures by nanoimprint lithography and dry etching, and their integration into a 1-{\mu}m-thin mono-crystalline silicon solar cell. Thanks to the periodic…
Scattering from metal nanoparticles near their localized plasmon resonance; especially, the resonances of noble metals which are mostly in the visible or infrared part of the electromagnetic spectrum; is a way of improving light absorption…
The hybrid metal-dielectric nanostructures (HMDN) are promising candidates to address the ohmic loss by conventional nanostructures in photovoltaic applications by strong confinement and high scattering directivity. In this study, we…
The absorption of thin hydrogenated amorphous silicon layers can be efficiently enhanced through a controlled periodic patterning. Light is trapped through coupling with photonic Bloch modes of the periodic structures, which act as an…
We report on the role of plasmonic resonances in determining the delicate balance between scattering and absorption of light in nanometric particle arrays applied to the front surface of solar cells. Strong parasitic absorption is shown to…
We propose a back-reflecting scheme in order to enhance the maximum achievable current in one micron thick crystalline silicon solar cells. We perform 3-dimensional numerical investigations of the scattering properties of metallic…
Thin crystalline silicon solar photovoltaics holds great potential for reducing the module price by material saving and increasing the efficiency by reduced bulk recombination loss. However, the module efficiency decreases rather…
We present state-of-the-art first-principle calculations of the electronic and optical properties of silicon allotropes with interesting characteristics for applications in thin-film solar cells. These new phases consist of distorted sp$^3$…