Light concentration in the near-field of dielectric spheroidal particles with mesoscopic sizes

Distributed silicon nanoparticles: an efficient light trapping platform toward ultrathin-film photovoltaics

In this paper, a new architecture comprising silicon nanoparticles inside a hole transport layer laid on a thin silicon layer is proposed to develop ultrathin film solar cells. Using generalized Mie theory, a fast analytical approach is developed to evaluate the optical absorption of the proposed structure for various geometries, polarizations and angles of incidence. The analytical results are verified through comparison with full-wave simulations, illustrating a reasonable agreement. The electrical performance of a distributed silicon nanoparticle solar cell is determined for selected configurations. To be able to predict the light-trapping in a solar cell comprising randomly distributed nanospheres, a new technique based on probability theory is developed and validated through comparison with the simulation results. Both analytical and numerical results show that the excited Mie resonant modes in the proposed structure lead to a significant enhancement in both absorption and the photo-generated current, in comparison to a conventional silicon solar cell with an equivalent volume of the active layer. In the case of random distributions, other advantages, including the simple fabrication process, indicate that the cell is a promising structure for ultrathin photovoltaics.

Colloidal Lithography for Photovoltaics: An Attractive Route for Light Management

The pursuit of ever-more efficient, reliable, and affordable solar cells has pushed the development of nano/micro-technological solutions capable of boosting photovoltaic (PV) performance without significantly increasing costs. One of the most relevant solutions is based on light management via photonic wavelength-sized structures, as these enable pronounced efficiency improvements by reducing reflection and by trapping the light inside the devices. Furthermore, optimized microstructured coatings allow self-cleaning functionality via effective water repulsion, which reduces the accumulation of dust and particles that cause shading. Nevertheless, when it comes to market deployment, nano/micro-patterning strategies can only find application in the PV industry if their integration does not require high additional costs or delays in high-throughput solar cell manufacturing. As such, colloidal lithography (CL) is considered the preferential structuring method for PV, as it is an inexpensive and highly scalable soft-patterning technique allowing nanoscopic precision over indefinitely large areas. Tuning specific parameters, such as the size of colloids, shape, monodispersity, and final arrangement, CL enables the production of various templates/masks for different purposes and applications. This review intends to compile several recent high-profile works on this subject and how they can influence the future of solar electricity.

Cylindrical 3D printed configurable ultrasonic lens for subwavelength focusing enhancement

In this study, we report the characteristics of acoustic jets obtained through a mesoscale (radius less than 5 wavelengths) ABS cylinder made with a 3D printer. We have analyzed the influence of cylinder size on the characteristic parameters of an acoustic jet, such as maximum acoustic intensity at focus, Full Width at Half Maximum and length of Acoustic Jet. FWHM below 0.5 wavelength in AJ was experimentally obtained. It has been observed that there are two operating regimes depending on the cylinder radius: the resonant and the non-resonant. In the resonant regime, the excitation of Whispering Gallery Modes results in optimal parameter values of the acoustic jet. However, as it is a resonant regime, any minimal variation in cylinder size, working frequency or refractive index would make resonance disappear. In non-resonant mode, a phononic crystal has been embedded inside the cylinder and the characteristic parameters of the acoustic jet have been studied. These have been observed to improve. Finally, we have shown that curved acoustic jets can be obtained with the ABS cylinder with a phononic crystal embedded inside.

Optimal-Enhanced Solar Cell Ultra-thinning with Broadband Nanophotonic Light Capture

Recent trends in photovoltaics demand ever-thin solar cells to allow deployment in consumer-oriented products requiring low-cost and mechanically flexible devices. For this, nanophotonic elements in the wave-optics regime are highly promising, as they capture and trap light in the cells' absorber, enabling its thickness reduction while improving its efficiency. Here, novel wavelength-sized photonic structures were computationally optimized toward maximum broadband light absorption. Thin-film silicon cells were the test bed to determine the best performing parameters and study their optical effects. Pronounced photocurrent enhancements, up to 37%, 27%, and 48%, respectively, in ultra-thin (100- and 300-nm-thick) amorphous, and thin (1.5-μm) crystalline silicon cells are demonstrated with honeycomb arrays of semi-spheroidal dome or void-like elements patterned on the cells' front. Also importantly, key advantages in the electrical performance are anticipated, since the photonic nano/micro-nanostructures do not increase the cell roughness, therefore not contributing to recombination, which is a crucial drawback in state-of-the-art light-trapping approaches.

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Wave-optics allows broadband light trapping while minimizing solar cell thickness

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Photonic transparent electrodes can boost both optical and electrical performance

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Up to 48% efficiency enhancement is determined relative to conventional approaches

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Performance enhancement is demonstrated for a wide incidence angular range (0°–70°)

Broadband and Low-Loss Plasmonic Light Trapping in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Using Micrometer-Scale Rodlike and Spherical Core-Shell Plasmonic Particles

Dielectric scattering particles have widely been used as embedded scattering elements in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) to improve the optical absorption of the device. Here we systematically study rodlike and spherical core-shell silica@Ag particles as more effective alternatives to the dielectric scattering particles. The wavelength-scale silica@Ag particles with sufficiently thin Ag shell support hybrid plasmonic-photonic resonance modes that have low parasitic absorption losses and a broadband optical response. Both of these features lead to their successful deployment in light trapping in high-efficiency DSCs. Optimized rodlike silica@Ag@silica particles improve the power conversion efficiency of a DSC from 6.33 to 8.91%. The dimension, surface morphology, and concentration of these particles are optimized to achieve maximal efficiency enhancement. The rodlike silica particles are prepared in a simple one-pot synthesis process and then are coated with Ag in a liquid-phase deposition process by reducing an Ag salt. The aspect ratio of silica rods is tuned by adjusting the temperature and duration of the growth process, whereas the morphology of Ag shell is tailored by controlling the reduction rate of Ag salt, where slower reduction in a polyol process gives a smoother Ag shell. Using optical calculations, the superior performance of the plasmonic core-shell particles is related to the large number of hybrid photonic-plasmonic resonance modes that they support.

Effect of charged-particle surface excitations on near-field optics

The mechanism of charge on the near-field intensity distribution is revealed for metallic and dielectric particles with sizes ranging from 10 nm to 10 μm. The theoretical foundation of near-field intensity perturbations is in the discontinuity of the tangential components of the magnetic fields on either side of the interface between the particle and its surrounding medium, since excess electrons form a thin metal-like layer with elevated conductivity. We have shown that the local fields alter marginally if charges are imposed on a surface of a metallic particle. But an intensity amplification is identified in the vicinity of charged dielectric particles with sizes smaller than the wavelength. Specifically, we have demonstrated that the electromagnetic field is amplified near the poles of the particle as a result of the oriented electric and incident fields. In contrast, a dielectric particle that is large compared to the wavelength becomes opaque with a deep shadow at the side opposite to the beam incidence. As a result, intensity damping is identified near a charged sphere in the geometric optics regime. At significant charge densities, the physical properties of a conductive layer play a dominant role in forming the 3D intensity distribution independent of conductivity or permittivity of the particle core. These findings suggest that some electrically chargeable particles have the potential to be used as optical devices with properties tunable through their net surface charge.

Broadband light trapping in thin film solar cells with self-organized plasmonic nano-colloids

The intense light scattered from metal nanoparticles sustaining surface plasmons makes them attractive for light trapping in photovoltaic applications. However, a strong resonant response from nanoparticle ensembles can only be obtained if the particles have monodisperse physical properties. Presently, the chemical synthesis of colloidal nanoparticles is the method that produces the highest monodispersion in geometry and material quality, with the added benefits of being low-temperature, low-cost, easily scalable and of allowing control of the surface coverage of the deposited particles. In this paper, novel plasmonic back-reflector structures were developed using spherical gold colloids with appropriate dimensions for pronounced far-field scattering. The plasmonic back reflectors are incorporated in the rear contact of thin film n-i-p nanocrystalline silicon solar cells to boost their photocurrent generation via optical path length enhancement inside the silicon layer. The quantum efficiency spectra of the devices revealed a remarkable broadband enhancement, resulting from both light scattering from the metal nanoparticles and improved light incoupling caused by the hemispherical corrugations at the cells' front surface formed from the deposition of material over the spherically shaped colloids.

Internal and near-surface electromagnetic fields for a dielectric spheroid illuminated by a zero-order Bessel beam

Within the framework of generalized Lorenz-Mie theory, scattering from a homogeneous spheroidal particle illuminated by an on-axis zero-order Bessel beam is formulated analytically, with special attention paid to the investigation of internal and near-surface fields. Numerical results concerning the spatial distributions of internal and near-surface fields are presented for various parameter values, such as the half-cone angle of the incident zero-order Bessel beam, the major axis, the minor axis, and the refractive index of the spheroid. The study of internal and near-surface field distributions will contribute to the understanding of Bessel beam scattering by nonspherical particles with sizes close to the incident wavelength.

Analytic theory of photoacoustic wave generation from a spheroidal droplet

In this paper, we develop an analytic theory for describing the photoacoustic wave generation from a spheroidal droplet and derive the first complete analytic solution. Our derivation is based on solving the photoacoustic Helmholtz equation in spheroidal coordinates with the separation-of-variables method. As the verification, besides carrying out the asymptotic analyses which recover the standard solutions for a sphere, an infinite cylinder and an infinite layer, we also confirm that the partial transmission and reflection model previously demonstrated for these three geometries still stands. We expect that this analytic solution will find broad practical uses in interpreting experiment results, considering that its building blocks, the spheroidal wave functions (SWFs), can be numerically calculated by the existing computer programs.

Colloidal plasmonic back reflectors for light trapping in solar cells

A novel type of plasmonic light trapping structure is presented in this paper, composed of metal nanoparticles synthesized in colloidal solution and self-assembled in uniform long-range arrays using a wet-coating method. The high monodispersion in size and spherical shape of the gold colloids used in this work allows a precise match between their measured optical properties and electromagnetic simulations performed with Mie theory, and enables the full exploitation of their collective resonant plasmonic behavior for light-scattering applications. The colloidal arrays are integrated in plasmonic back reflector (PBR) structures aimed for light trapping in thin film solar cells. The PBRs exhibit high diffuse reflectance (up to 75%) in the red and near-infrared spectrum, which can pronouncedly enhance the near-bandgap photocurrent generated by the cells. Furthermore, the colloidal PBRs are fabricated by low-temperature (<120 °C) processes that allow their implementation, as a final step of the cell construction, in typical commercial thin film devices generally fabricated in a superstrate configuration.

Controllable and enhanced photonic jet generated by fiber combined with spheroid

Dielectric microparticles are used as simple and low-cost means to achieve strong intensity confinement below the standard diffraction limit. Here we report the demonstration of enhanced light intensity in the vicinity of optical fiber combined with dielectric spheroidal particles. Specific attention is paid to the study of the influences of the spheroid's ellipticity (ratio of horizontal length to vertical length) as well as the refractive index on the intensity enhancement and focal distance. It reveals that simply varying the ellipticity, it is possible to obtain localized photon fluxes having different characteristics. This could yield a new superenhanced intensity device with excellent optical properties and low manufacturing cost for using visible light in many areas of biology, material sciences, chemistry, medicine, and tissue engineering.

Self-organized colloidal quantum dots and metal nanoparticles for plasmon-enhanced intermediate-band solar cells

A colloidal deposition technique is presented to construct long-range ordered hybrid arrays of self-assembled quantum dots and metal nanoparticles. Quantum dots are promising for novel opto-electronic devices but, in most cases, their optical transitions of interest lack sufficient light absorption to provide a significant impact in their implementation. A potential solution is to couple the dots with localized plasmons in metal nanoparticles. The extreme confinement of light in the near-field produced by the nanoparticles can potentially boost the absorption in the quantum dots by up to two orders of magnitude.In this work, light extinction measurements are employed to probe the plasmon resonance of spherical gold nanoparticles in lead sulfide colloidal quantum dots and amorphous silicon thin-films. Mie theory computations are used to analyze the experimental results and determine the absorption enhancement that can be generated by the highly intense near-field produced in the vicinity of the gold nanoparticles at their surface plasmon resonance.The results presented here are of interest for the development of plasmon-enhanced colloidal nanostructured photovoltaic materials, such as colloidal quantum dot intermediate-band solar cells.

Role of a disperse carbon interlayer on the performances of tandem a-Si solar cells

We report the effect of a disperse carbon interlayer between the n-a-Si:H layer and an aluminium zinc oxide (AZO) back contact on the performance of amorphous silicon solar cells. Carbon was incorporated to the AZO film as revealed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray analysis. Solar cells fabricated on glass substrates using AZO in the back contact performed better when a disperse carbon interlayer was present in their structure. They exhibited an initial efficiency of 11%, open-circuit voltage V_oc = 1.6 V, short-circuit current J_SC = 11 mA cm^-2 and a filling factor of 63%, that is, a 10% increase in the J_SC and 20% increase in the efficiency compared to a standard solar cell.

Colloidal crystals by electrospraying polystyrene nanofluids

This work introduces the electrospray technique as a suitable option to fabricate large-scale colloidal nanostructures, including colloidal crystals, in just a few minutes. It is shown that by changing the deposition conditions, different metamaterials can be fabricated: from scattered monolayers of polystyrene nanospheres to self-assembled three-dimensional ordered nanolayers having colloidal crystal properties. The electrospray technique overcomes the main problems encountered by top-down fabrication approaches, largely simplifying the experimental setup. Polystyrene nanospheres, with 360-nm diameter, were typically electrosprayed using off-the-shelf nanofluids. Several parameters of the setup and deposition conditions were explored, namely the distance between electrodes, nanofluid conductivity, applied voltage, and deposition rate. Layers thicker than 20 μm and area of 1 cm2 were typically produced, showing several domains of tens of microns wide with dislocations in between, but no cracks. The applied voltage was in the range of 10 kV, and the conductivity of the colloidal solution was in the range of 3 to 4 mS. Besides the morphology of the layers, the quality was also assessed by means of optical reflectance measurements showing an 80% reflectivity peak in the vicinity of 950-nm wavelength.

Heuristic optimization for the design of plasmonic nanowires with specific resonant and scattering properties

In this contribution, we propose a computational tool for the synthesis of metallic nanowires with optimized optical properties, e.g. maximal scattering cross-section at a given wavelength. For this, we employ a rigorous numerical method, based on the solution of surface integral equations, along with a heuristic optimization technique that belongs to the population-based set known as Evolutionary Algorithms. Also, we make use of a general representation scheme to model, in a more realistic manner, the arbitrary geometry of the nanowires. The performance of this approach is evaluated through some examples involving various wavelengths, materials, and optimization strategies. The results of our numerical experiments show that this hybrid technique is a suitable and versatile tool straightforwardly extensible for the design of different configurations of interest in Plasmonics.