Effect of the angle of incidence of solar radiation on the capability of arrays of plasmonic metal nanoparticles to enhance the opto-electronic performance of thin-film solar cells

This computational study investigates the effect of oblique angles (non-normal incidence angles) of incident solar radiation on the opto-electronic performance of thin-film solar cells modified with arrays of plasmonic metal nanoparticles of varying inter-particle distances. Arrays of spherical homogenous silver nanoparticles were placed on top of a silicon absorber layer. The incident angles of solar radiation studied were 0°, 10°, 20°, 30°, 40°, and 45°, while the inter-particle distances were varied between 5-100nm. This study revealed that a large angle of incidence was favorable for shorter inter-particle distances. However, a small angle of incidence produced improved results for longer inter-particle distances. Localized surface plasmon resonance analysis showed a shift in the plasmon resonance peak wavelength with the angle of incidence of light that could support the findings of this study. It is believed that the inter-particle coupling of plasmon modes plays an important role when considering the optimal performance parameters obtained for longer inter-particle distances. The results underline the impact of oblique angles of incidence on the opto-electronic performance of thin-film solar cells and highlights the importance of considering the angle of the incident light as an important design parameter when designing "plasmonic" thin-film solar cells.