Broadband photocurrent enhancement and light-trapping in thin film Si solar cells with periodic Al nanoparticle arrays on the front

Plasmonic resonances in metal nanoparticles are considered candidates for improved thin film Si photovoltaics. In periodic arrays the influence of collective modes can enhance the resonant properties of such arrays. We have investigated the use of periodic arrays of Al nanoparticles placed on the front of a thin film Si test solar cell. It is demonstrated that the resonances from the Al nanoparticle array cause a broadband photocurrent enhancement ranging from the ultraviolet to the infrared with respect to a reference cell. From the experimental results as well as from numerical simulations it is shown that this broadband enhancement is due to single particle resonances that give rise to light-trapping in the infrared spectral range and to collective resonances that ensure an efficient in-coupling of light in the ultraviolet-blue spectral range. © 2015 Optical Society of America.