Combined three-dimensional electromagnetic and device modeling of surface plasmon-enhanced organic solar cells incorporating low aspect ratio silver nanoprisms

We investigate silver nanoparticle enhanced organic solar cells by coupling three-dimensional electromagnetic and electronic device simulations. For active layer thicknesses of less than 50 nm, an array of optimized silver nanoprisms with 10 nm edge length, 15 nm thickness, and 17 nm period length can enhance the power conversion efficiency (PCE) by more than 25% when embedded in a bulk heterojunction polymer blend. For thicker layers, optical losses associated with the particles outweigh the increased absorption and reduce the PCE. Additionally, we find that the nanoparticle's work function determines the current-voltage behavior of plasmonic devices. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.