Solar harvesting based on perfect absorbing all-dielectric nanoresonators on a mirror
Journal article, 2019

The high-index all-dielectric nanoantenna system is a platform recently used for multiple applications, from metalenses to light management. These systems usually exhibit low absorption/scattering ratios and are not efficient photon harvesters. Nevertheless, by exploiting far-field interference, all-dielectric nanostructures can be engineered to achieve near-perfect absorption in specific wavelength ranges. Here, we propose - based on electrodynamics simulations - that a metasurface composed of an array of hydrogenated amorphous silicon nanoparticles on a mirror can achieve nearly complete light absorption close to the bandgap. We apply this concept to a realistic device, predicting a boost of optical performance of thin-film solar cells made of such nanostructures. In the proposed device, high-index dielectric nanoparticles act not only as nanoatennas able to concentrate light but also as the solar cell active medium, contacted at its top and bottom by transparent electrodes. By optimization of the exact geometrical parameters, we predict a system that could achieve initial conversion efficiency values well beyond 9% - using only the equivalent of a 75-nm thick active material. The device absorption enhancement is 50% compared to an unstructured device in the 400 nm - 550 nm range and more than 300% in the 650 nm - 700 nm spectral region. We demonstrate that such large values are related to the metasurface properties and to the perfect absorption mechanism. (C) 2019 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement

Author

Robin Vismara

Delft University of Technology

Nils Odebo Länk

Chalmers, Physics, Bionanophotonics

Ruggero Verre

Chalmers, Physics, Bionanophotonics

Mikael Käll

Chalmers, Physics, Bionanophotonics

Olindo Isabella

Delft University of Technology

Miro Zeman

Delft University of Technology

Optics Express

1094-4087 (ISSN) 10944087 (eISSN)

Vol. 27 16 A967-A980

Subject Categories

Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics

Other Physics Topics

Other Materials Engineering

DOI

10.1364/OE.27.00A967

PubMed

31510484

More information

Latest update

11/3/2019