Control of the spatial distribution and crystal orientation of self-organized Au nanoparticles.

Ordered, two-dimensional, self-organized Au nanoparticles were fabricated using radiofrequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. The particles were uniformly spherical in shape and ultrafine in size (3-7 nm) and showed an ultrahigh density in the order of ∼10(12) inch(-2). A custom-developed sputtering apparatus that employs low sputtering power density and a minimized sputtering time (1 min) was used to markedly simplify the preparation conditions for Au nanoparticle fabrication.

Characterization of light absorption in thin-film silicon with periodic nanohole arrays.

Light absorption in thin-film nanostructured monocrystalline silicon (c-Si) in a glass/Ag(0.2 µm)/c-Si(1 µm) stack is characterized using simulations and measurements. Nanohole (NH) arrays designed for a practical thin-film solar cell configuration experimentally exhibit a significant improvement of the light absorption in the 1-µm ultrathin c-Si layer that exceeds the theoretical Yablonovitch limit in the long wavelength range.