Current Photovoltaic Research ISSN:2288-3274(Print) 2508-125X(Online)

We investigated the influences of Ag nanoparticle (NP) arrays and surface nanohole (NH) patterns on the optical characteristics of 10-μm-thick c-Si wafers using finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations. In particular, we comparatively studied the plasmonic effects of both monomer arrays (MA) and heptamer arrays (HA) consisting of identical Ag NPs. HA improved the optical absorption of the c-Si wafers in much wider wavelength range than MA, with the help of hybridized plasmon modes. The light trapping capability of the NH array pattern is superior to that of the Ag plasmonic NPs. We also found that the addition of the Ag HA on the wafers with surface NH patterns further enhanced optical absorption: the expected short-circuit current density was as high as 34.96 mA/cm ² .