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.

Bowtie-based plasmonic metal nanoparticle complexes to enhance the opto-electronic performance of thin-film solar cells.

This computational study investigates the possibility of using different multi-particle plasmonic nanoparticle complexes to enhance the opto-electronic performance of thin-film solar cells (TFSCs). The nanoparticle complexes are in a bowtie nanocomplex (BNC) configuration whereby each of the BNCs comprises a set of bowtie nanoantenna and a spherical nanoparticle. The results show that such plasmonic BNCs significantly enhance the opto-electronic performance of thin-film solar cells when compared to a bare TFSC or a TFSC modified with a single plasmonic nanoparticle.

Photoluminescence Enhancement, Blinking Suppression, and Improved Biexciton Quantum Yield of Single Quantum Dots in Zero Mode Waveguides.

The capability of quantum dots to generate both single and multiexcitons can be harnessed for a wide variety of applications, including those that require high optical gain. Here, we use time-correlated photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy to demonstrate that the isolation of single CdSeTe/ZnS core-shell, nanocrystal quantum dots (QDs) in Zero Mode Waveguides (ZMWs) leads to a significant modification in PL intensity, blinking dynamics, and biexciton behavior. QDs in aluminum ZMWs (AlZMWs) exhibited a 15-fold increase in biexciton emission, indicating a preferential enhancement of the biexciton radiative decay rate as compared to the single exciton rate.