Plasmonic GaInP solar cells with improved energy conversion efficiency

We report here a new method to improve the performance of GaInP solar cells by fabricating Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) atop the devices through a simple wet-chemical method. The size and density of Ag NPs can be easily optimized by changing the concentration of AgNO3 solution and/or the reaction time. The Ag NPs support surface plasmonic resonances (SPRs) and thus greatly increase light absorbance and photocurrent responses of the solar cells by the scattering and re-reflection of incident light. We find that, for a Ag NPs density of ∼3.37 × 1010 cm−2, the short-circuit current density (Jsc) increases by 19.5% from 14.9 to 17.8 mA cm−2, and the power conversion efficiency (PCE) increases by 20.4% from 15.2% to 18.3%.