International Journal of Physics | Vol. 10, No. 5, May 2019 | pp. 33–40
DOI: 10.46882/2019/IJP/000109
Research Article
Title: Quantum Efficiency Enhancement in Polymer Solar Cells via Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance of Copper Nanocubes
Names of Authors: H. K. Tanaka¹, M. G. Richter²
Authors’ Affiliations: ¹Department of Quantum Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan; ²Max-Planck-Institut für Festkörperforschung, Stuttgart, Germany
Abstract: Low absorption cross-sections within ultra-thin active layers limit the conversion efficiencies of organic and polymer thin-film photovoltaic systems. This study implements an approach to enhance the internal quantum efficiency of bulk-heterojunction polymer solar cells by incorporating synthesized copper nanocubes into the hole transport buffer layer. The solar devices were fabricated with an inverted architecture containing indium tin oxide, a metal oxide electron transport layer, and a blend active core. We adjusted the edge lengths of the copper nanocubes from 30.0 nm to 70.0 nm to align the localized surface plasmon resonance bands with the polymer absorption minima. Experimental UV-vis spectrophotometry demonstrates a significant 38.0% increase in optical absorption within the 500.0 nm to 650.0 nm spectrum when 50.0 nm nanocubes are integrated. Under simulated standard solar illumination (AM 1.5G, 100.0 mW/cm²), the optimized plasmonic polymer cell yielded a short-circuit current density of 12.15 mA/cm² and an open-circuit voltage of 0.64 V. This resulted in a maximum power conversion efficiency of 5.45%, representing a 30.0% boost over the control cell. Finite-difference time-domain simulations confirm that near-field electromagnetic field concentration and forward scattering drive this performance enhancement.
Keywords: Polymer photovoltaics; copper nanocubes; surface plasmon resonance; light harvesting; power conversion efficiency; finite-difference time-domain
Manuscript Timeline: Received: February 11, 2019; Revised: March 24, 2019; Accepted: April 10, 2019; Published: May 15, 2019
Citation: Tanaka, H. K., & Richter, M. G. (2019). Quantum Efficiency Enhancement in Polymer Solar Cells via Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance of Copper Nanocubes. International Journal of Physics, 10(5), 33–40.
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