Improving the efficiency of perovskite solar cells via embedding random plasmonic nanoparticles: Optical–electrical study on device architectures

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) based on lead halide and solution process face issues such as low efficiency and high manufacturing costs. Recently, the emerging field of plasmonics as a branch of photonics has been utilized in electronic, optic and electro-optic devices, which deals with optical phenomena in metallic nanostructures like Au, Ag and Cu. One way to enhance the efficiency is the increase of absorbent layer thickness, while increasing the manufacturing cost. Here, we intend to examine the size, number, and composition of random plasmonic nanoparticles (RPNPs) in the active layer (AL) so that we can increase the power conversion efficiency (PCE) without changing the absorbent layer thickness. The simulation results demonstrate an improve in photocurrent of the device as much as 11.12% (18.24–20.27 mA/cm2) using the near-field plasmon-enhanced properties of RPNPs, while the number and radius of PNPs embedded in the AL are 50 and 10 nm, respectively. With Ag RPNPs, the photocurrent increases up to 16.5% (18.24–21.25 mA/cm2). Utilizing RNPNs is an efficient method for improving PCE in PSCs with thin absorption layer (up to 200 nm). Given the optimal parameters obtained for RPNPs, our study is very useful for the development of PSCs.