Broadband absorption enhancement in organic solar cells using refractory plasmonic ceramics

We theoretically demonstrate absorption enhancement in organic solar cells (OSC) due to the incorporation of titanium nitride and zirconium nitride plasmonic nanostructures. Localizing light using plasmonic nanostructures has the potential to overcome the absorption limitations of OSC and improve their power conversion efficiency. Thus, using C-MOS compatible, cheap, and abundant materials, such as refractory plasmonics, for light trapping could facilitate their commercialization. This work shows that transition metal nitrides have comparable performance to Ag when placed as the nanopatterned back electrode. In addition, the effect of adding TiN nanoparticles and nanowires inside the active layer has been analyzed.