The emerging field of plasmonics has yielded methods for guiding and localizing light at the nanoscale, well below the scale of the wavelength of light in free space. Now plasmonics researchers are turning their attention to photovoltaics, where design approaches based on plasmonics can be used to improve absorption in photovoltaic devices, permitting a considerable reduction in the physical thickness of solar photovoltaic absorber layers, and yielding new options for solar-cell design. In this review, we survey recent advances at the intersection of plasmonics and photovoltaics and offer an outlook on the future of solar cells based on these principles.

Plasmonics for improved photovoltaic devices

This Review summarizes the simultaneous transmission of several independent spatial channels of light along optical fibres to expand the data-carrying capacity of optical communications. Recent results achieved in both multicore and multimode optical fibres are documented.

/pdf/space-division-multiplexing-in-optical-fibres-9acl86j916.pdf

Space-division multiplexing in optical fibres

S. Pillai would like to acknowledge the UNSW Faculty
of Engineering Research Scholarship. K.R. Catchpole
acknowledges the support of an Australian Research Council fellowship.

/pdf/surface-plasmon-enhanced-silicon-solar-cells-3duyubxz7i.pdf

Surface plasmon enhanced silicon solar cells

The scattering from metal nanoparticles near their localized plasmon resonance is a promising way of increasing the light absorption in thin-film solar cells. Enhancements in photocurrent have been observed for a wide range of semiconductors and solar cell configurations. We review experimental and theoretical progress that has been made in recent years, describe the basic mechanisms at work, and provide an outlook on future prospects in this area.

https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/10440/1045/1/Catchpole_Plasmonic2008.pdf

Plasmonic solar cells

When light interacts with a metal nanoparticle (NP), its conduction electrons can be driven by the incident electric field in collective oscillations known as localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs). These give rise to a drastic alteration of the incident radiation pattern and to striking effects such as the subwavelength localization of electromagnetic (EM) energy, the formation of high intensity hot spots at the NP surface, or the directional scattering of light out of the structure. LSPRs can also couple to the EM fields emitted by molecules, atoms, or quantum dots placed in the vicinity of the NP, leading in turn to a strong modification of the radiative and nonradiative properties of the emitter. Since LSPRs enable an efficient transfer of EM energy from the near to the far-field of metal NPs and vice versa, we can consider plasmonic nanostructures as nanoantennas, because they operate in a similar way to radio antennas but at higher frequencies. Typically, plasmonic nanoantennas at optical frequencies are made of gold and silver due to their goodmetallic properties and low absorption. Controlling and guiding light has been one of science’s most influential achievements. It affects everyday life in many ways, such as the development of telescopes, microscopes, spectrometers, and optical fibers, to name but a few. These examples exploit the wave nature of light and are based on the reflection, refraction and diffraction of light by optical elements such as mirrors, lenses or gratings. However, the wave nature of light limits the resolution to which an object can be imaged, as well as the size of the transverse cross section of efficient guiding structures to the wavelength dimension. Plasmonic resonances in nanoantennas overcome these constraints, allowing unprecedented control of light-matter interactions within subwavelength volumes (i.e., within the nanoscale at optical frequencies). Such properties have attracted much interest lately, due to the implications they have both in fundamental research and in technological applications. Metal NPs have been used since antiquity. Due to their strong scattering properties in the visible range, they show attractive colors. One of their first applications, dating back to the Roman Empire more than 2000 years ago, was as a colorant for clothing. In art, they were used to stain window glass and ceramics. Obviously, it was not known then that the colorants being used contained metal NPs or that the spectacular colors were due to the excitation of LSPRs. The first reported intentional production of metal NPs dates from 1857, when Faraday synthesized gold colloids. However, at the time there was not much interest in understanding the physics behind the optical properties of colloids due to the impossibility of synthesizing NPs with well-controlled shapes and sizes, as well as the lack of accurate detection techniques. The first theoretical work on the scattering of light by particles smaller than the incident wavelength was carried out by Lord Rayleigh at the end of the 19th century. He analyzed the diffusion of light by diluted gases, and his theory explained physical phenomena such as the blueness of the sky, the redness of the sunset, or the yellow color of the sun. Mie took the next step forward by deriving an analytical solution to Maxwell’s equations to describe the interaction of light with spheres of arbitrary radius and composition. Subsequently, based on the results of Rayleigh and Mie, Gans considered elliptical geometries. He demonstrated that the optical response of metal NPs is

Plasmonic nanoantennas: fundamentals and their use in controlling the radiative properties of nanoemitters.

We report the effect of metal-island size variation in nanoparticle-enhanced photodetectors. Nanoparticle size was controlled by varying the deposition and annealing conditions used to produce the metal-island films. Increasing the size of silver-island particles fabricated onto 165 nm thick silicon-on-insulator (SOI) photodetectors resulted in a dramatic increase in the observed photocurrent. A nearly factor-of-20 photocurrent enhancement was observed for light of wavelength 800 nm, a significant improvement over previously reported results. The improvement is linked to two physical effects: the increased scattering efficiency of the larger nanoparticles and a qualitative change in the resonance characteristics of the metal-island film due to radiative coupling to the SOI waveguide modes.

Island size effects in nanoparticle-enhanced photodetectors

We report the degree to which the resonances associated with metal island films can be used to enhance the sensitivity of very thin semiconductor photodetectors. The island films can couple incident light into the waveguide modes of the detector, resulting in increased absorption. To characterize the coupling, silver‐, gold‐, and copper‐island layers were formed on the surface of a thin‐film photodetector fabricated in the 0.16 μm thick silicon layer of a silicon‐on‐insulator (SOI) wafer. The copper islands gave the best result, producing more than an order of magnitude enhancement in the photocurrent for light of wavelength 800 nm. The enhancements appear to be due primarily to coupling between the metal island resonances and the waveguide modes supported by the SOI structure.

Absorption enhancement in silicon‐on‐insulator waveguides using metal island films

Recently developed ideas in the field of wireless communications suggest that the presence of scattering can be used to enhance, rather than degrade, the total information capacity of a transmission system. This concept is applied to data transmission over multimode optical fiber, and the result is an optical multiplexing that can increase the capacity of such fiber. Experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of this approach. The technique may play an important role in future high-bandwidth local area networking applications.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/289/5477/281.full.pdf

Dispersive multiplexing in multimode optical fiber

We report the results of elastic light-scattering measurements of random silver nanoparticle arrays fabricated onto structures supporting optical surface modes (i.e., surface plasmons or waveguide modes). We observe dramatic, qualitative changes in the resonance structure of the nanoparticle layer due to coupling with the propagating modes. The effect appears to arise because the underlying surface modes mediate an enhanced dipole-dipole interaction between individual nanoparticles. A calculation that supports this interpretation is described.

Enhanced Dipole-Dipole Interaction between Elementary Radiators Near a Surface

We calculate the degree to which absorption can be enhanced by light trapping
in a material whose thickness is on the order of a wavelength of light. The
calculation makes use of an extension of the radiance theorem in the wave
domain and represents the ultimate upper limit as determined by the laws of
thermodynamics. It is a general upper limit, based solely on considerations
of the modal structure of the device and independent of the technique used
to couple light into the material. We assume only that the coupling mechanism
is isotropic. An important parameter in our result is the density of guided
modes within the planar structure, which we calculate. We find that even for
structures supporting only a small number of guided modes, significant enhancements
in absorption are possible.

Howard R. Stuart

Papers

Island size effects in nanoparticle-enhanced photodetectors

Absorption enhancement in silicon‐on‐insulator waveguides using metal island films

Dispersive multiplexing in multimode optical fiber

Enhanced Dipole-Dipole Interaction between Elementary Radiators Near a Surface

Thermodynamic limit to light trapping in thin planar structures