Aluminum plasmonic nanostructures for improved absorption in organic photovoltaic devices

Abstract

We model the absorption enhancement in organic photovoltaic devices induced by incorporating Al, Ag, and Au nanoparticles in the active layer. We find that Al nanoparticles should yield significantly greater enhancement than Ag or Au. This is because the much higher plasma frequency of Al ensures a better overlap between plasmon resonance and absorption band of organic semiconductors. Our predictions are verified experimentally by demonstrating enhanced absorbance in a poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl): [6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester layer with embedded functionalized Al nanoparticles.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Mar 28, 2011
Source ID
10.1063/1.3574091

Entities

People

  • Chih-yu Jao
  • Hans D. Robinson
  • Lauren Neely
  • Vladimir Kochergin

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • Virginia Tech

Tags

Readers

  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Nanocomposite Materials Science
  • Quantum spin resonance or Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopy.

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Microelectronics