title: Metamaterial-plasmonic absorber structure for high efficiency amorphous silicon solar cells.
abstract: We show that a planar structure, consisting of an ultrathin semiconducting layer topped with a solid nanoscopically perforated metallic film and then a dielectric interference film, can highly absorb (superabsorb) electromagnetic radiation in the entire visible range, and thus can become a platform for high-efficiency solar cells. The perforated metallic film and the ultrathin absorber in this broadband superabsorber form a metamaterial effective film, which negatively refracts light in this broad frequency range. Our quantitative simulations confirm that the superabsorption bandwidth is maximized at the checkerboard pattern of the perforations. These simulations show also that the energy conversion efficiency of a single-junction amorphous silicon solar cell based on our optimized structure can exceed 12%.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Advanced Materials (IAM), School of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, South China Normal University, Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China. wangyangfs@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Tianyi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Trilochan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Paudel
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhifeng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Krzysztof
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kempa
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012666:Semiconductors; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry*; D012993:Solar Energy; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000295:instrumentation*
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D012825:Silicon