Plasmon enhanced optical absorption in silicon nanohole arrays for thin film solar cells applications

The surface plasmon effect of gold (Au) nanoparticles in combination with the silicon nanohole (SiNH) arrays texture surface is studied via simulation for light absorption enhancement for the thin film silicon solar cells application. It is found that the ultimate efficiency of an optimized silicon nanohole (SiNH) arrays texture surface in combination with the surface and bottom-of-a-trench Au nanoparticle arrays described herein, is 39.67%, which compares favorably with the ultimate efficiency of 31.11% for an optimized silicon nanohole arrays texture surface without Au nanoparticles. Detailed balanced analysis is carried out for the limiting values of short circuit current density (J
_SC
), open circuit voltage (V
_OC
), and the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the proposed solar cells geometries.