Plasmonics for Photovoltaics: Enhancement of Solar Cell Efficiency

According to the calculation, the theoretical efficiency of ideal three-junction concentrator solar cells is as high as 56%. In the meanwhile, our research center have the strength of three MOCVD systems which can provide different epi-structure and the our partner they are good at the surface plasma theoretical deriving and nano particle preparation. Therefore, this proposal focus on the design and production of surface plasma enhanced three-junction InGaP/InGaAs/Ge solar cells. By using three size-dependent band gap materials and utilizing epitaxial method, the main absorption layer of solar cell could be generated. When the photonic energy is greater than the value of the energy gap of each epilayer, the optical absorption coefficient (α) will increase substantially. Therefore, the most of sunlight with visible wavelengths can be absorbed by this solar cell. To further enhance the efficiency of solar cells, both the epitaxial and the process technology as well as the theory of anti-reflective surface layer are worth to further discuss. Here we utilize the theory of nano plasmonics to enhance the the solar cell’s photovoltaic effect and energy transition. That is, the metal nanospheres (Au or Ag) will be implanted on the surface layer of the solar cell in order to perform high conversion efficiency. In addition, we also tend to study the implantation of metal nanospheres on the photovoltaic absorber layer to solve the problem of light trapping effect of the thin-film solar cell.

Project ID:PB10401-0005
External Project ID:MOST103-2923-E182-001-MY3