Simulation of Solar Cell Absorption Enhancement via Incorporation of Plasmonic Nanoparticles

Among the various technologies available for solar energy generation, photovoltaics has a unique advantage due to the ease of use, effectiveness and prevalent availability of solar energy. Solar cell efficiency is key to the widespread use of photovoltaic technology for power generation. Absorption of photons within the active media is one such pre requisite to increasing the optical generation rate and thus electron-hole generation. Plasmonics - the study and manipulation of coupled electron-photon oscillations - provides a gateway towards fulfilling this need. In this study, we make use of the inherent loss of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) into the dielectric media. To demonstrate this, we evaluate the increase in optical absorption as a function of nanoparticle radius in a silver nanosphere lattice. Discussion is presented on the role of the electric field and on the underlying mechanisms.