RESUMO
The high-index all-dielectric nanoantenna system is a platform recently used for multiple applications, from metalenses to light management. These systems usually exhibit low absorption/scattering ratios and are not efficient photon harvesters. Nevertheless, by exploiting far-field interference, all-dielectric nanostructures can be engineered to achieve near-perfect absorption in specific wavelength ranges. Here, we propose - based on electrodynamics simulations - that a metasurface composed of an array of hydrogenated amorphous silicon nanoparticles on a mirror can achieve nearly complete light absorption close to the bandgap. We apply this concept to a realistic device, predicting a boost of optical performance of thin-film solar cells made of such nanostructures. In the proposed device, high-index dielectric nanoparticles act not only as nanoatennas able to concentrate light but also as the solar cell active medium, contacted at its top and bottom by transparent electrodes. By optimization of the exact geometrical parameters, we predict a system that could achieve initial conversion efficiency values well beyond 9% - using only the equivalent of a 75-nm thick active material. The device absorption enhancement is 50% compared to an unstructured device in the 400 nm - 550 nm range and more than 300% in the 650 nm - 700 nm spectral region. We demonstrate that such large values are related to the metasurface properties and to the perfect absorption mechanism.
RESUMO
Nanoparticles made of high index dielectric materials have seen a surge of interest and have been proposed for various applications, such as metalenses, light harvesting and directional scattering. With the advent of fabrication techniques enabling colloidal suspensions, the prospects of optical manipulation of such nanoparticles becomes paramount. High index nanoparticles support electric and magnetic multipolar responses in the visible regime and interference between such modes can give rise to highly directional scattering, in particular a cancellation of back-scattered radiation at the first Kerker condition. Here we present a study of the optical forces on silicon nanoparticles in the visible and near infrared calculated using the transfer matrix method. The zero-backscattering Kerker condition is investigated as an avenue to reduce radiation pressure in an optical trap. We find that while asymmetric scattering does reduce the radiation pressure, the main determining factor of trap stability is the increased particle response near the geometric resonances. The trap stability for non-spherical silicon nanoparticles is also investigated and we find that ellipsoidal deformation of spheres enables trapping of slightly larger particles.
