Periodically arranged colloidal gold nanoparticles for enhanced light harvesting in organic solar cells

Although organic solar cells show intriguing features such as low-cost, mechanical flexibility and light weight, their efficiency is still low compared to their inorganic counterparts. One way of improving their efficiency is by the use of light-trapping mechanisms from nano- or microstructures, which makes it possible to improve the light absorption and charge extraction in the device’s active layer. Here, periodically arranged colloidal gold nanoparticles are demonstrated experimentally and theoretically to improve light absorption and thus enhance the efficiency of organic solar cells. Surface-ordered gold nanoparticle arrangements are integrated at the bottom electrode of organic solar cells. The resulting optical interference and absorption effects are numerically investigated in bulk hetero-junction solar cells based on the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) and Transfer Matrix Method (TMM) and as a function of size and periodicity of the plasmonic arrangements. In addition, light absorption enhancement in the organic active layer is investigated experimentally following integration of the nanoparticle arrangements. The latter are fabricated using a lithography-free stamping technique, creating a centimeter scaled area with nanoparticles having a defined inter-particle spacing. Our study reveals the light harvesting ability of template-assisted nanoparticle assemblies in organic solar cells. As the approach is easily scalable, it is an efficient and transferable method for large-scale, low cost device fabrication.