Nanoparticle-enhanced thin film solar cells: Metallic or dielectric nanoparticles?

Recently, thin film solar cells enhanced by nanoparticles have attracted much attention of the scientific community. To improve the performance of such cells, a systematic study on the influence of the nanoparticle material on the efficiency of the enhancement is performed. Based on optimization of the nanoparticle array parameters, the role of dispersion and dissipation of the nanoparticle material is discussed and analyzed with respect to optical absorption of the photoactive layer. Finally, it is demonstrated that the use of dielectric nanoparticles can lead to similar and even higher enhancements compared to that of metal nanoparticles.