Blunt nanostructures could make high-efficiency solar cells easier to fabricate
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 - 08:02
in Physics & Chemistry
(PhysOrg.com) -- One of the most promising methods for increasing the efficiency of solar cells consists of coating the cells surfaces with a thin layer of metal nanoparticles. The nanoparticles scatter incoming light in different directions, which allows the solar cells to absorb more light than they otherwise would. The scattering occurs when the incoming light stimulates the nanoparticles surface plasmons (SPs), which are coherent electron oscillations in the metal atoms that can reach a resonance mode when the electrons frequency matches the photons frequency. Under these conditions, the resulting surface plasmon resonance induces light scattering and enhances the light absorption of the surface.