Efficiency Improvement of Planar Silicon Solar Cells Utilizing Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance of Silver Nanoparticles

In this work we develop a time- and cost-effective method of fabricating an antireflection structure on Si solar cells utilizing the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of Ag nanoparticles (NPs). Covered with an Al
₂
O
₃
layer to prevent degradation, the NP decorated Si solar cell exhibits a broadband light absorption enhancement, having a low weighted average spectral reflectance (Rave) value of 9.5%, and exhibits the highest absolute gain of 19.2% in external quantum efficiency (EQE) at 700 nm and an overall 20% relative increase in power efficiency (η) compared to the reference Si solar cell without NPs.