Using spacer layers to control metal and semiconductor absorption in ultrathin solar cells with plasmonic substrates

We systematically explore the performance of ultrathin amorphous silicon solar cells integrated on plasmonic substrates of several different morphologies. Angle-resolved reflectance, external quantum efficiency measurements, and finite-difference time-domain simulations highlight the importance of the spacer layer in determining the mode profiles to which light can couple. Coupling mechanisms are found to strongly differ between periodic silver nanovoid arrays and randomly textured silver substrates. Tailoring the spacer thickness leads to 50% higher quantum efficiencies and short-circuit current densities by tuning the coupling between the near-field and trapped modes with enhanced optical path lengths. The balance of absorption for the plasmonic near field at the metal/semiconductor interface is analytically derived for a broad range of leading photovoltaic materials. This yields key design principles for plasmonic thin-film solar cells, predicting strong near-field enhancement only for CdTe, CuInGaSe ₂, and organic polymer devices.