Particle swarm optimization for performance enhancement of cadmium telluride thin film solar cells by embedded nano-grating structures with a plasmonic metal coating layer.

As the demand for energy in world is increasing rapidly and there is pursuit for renewable energy sources which is cheap, easy to generate and requires low maintenance, solar energy is a top contender. The world is in dire need of photovoltaic solar cells that can aid in keeping up with the hiking energy demands. However, thin film solar cells (TFSCs) which are developed for cost effectivity, suffer in performance due to reduced thickness.

Effects of "defective" plasmonic metal nanoparticle arrays on the opto-electronic performance of thin-film solar cells: computational study.

This computational study investigates the effects of common defects that occur while fabricating arrays of plasmonic metal nanoparticles (NPs) on the absorbing layer of the solar cells for enhancing their opto-electronic performance. Several "defects" in an array of plasmonic NP arrays on solar cells were studied. The results demonstrated no major changes in the performance of solar cells in the presence of "defective" arrays when compared to a "perfect" array with defect-free NPs.