Abstract

The suitability of few commonly used plasmonic materials (e.g., Au, Ag and Cu) was demonstrated for enhancing the absorption efficiency of Si solar cells in the visible to near infrared region. It is summarized that the use of Cu nanosphere (with size more than Au) can help to make cheap solar cells with almost same efficiency as Au with a result of less reduction in photocurrent at lower wavelength regime in comparison to Ag. The results indicate that Cu could be more creditable for plasmonic solar cells in comparison to Ag and Au.

© 2010 Optical Society of America