Modeling and Fabricating Nanotoroid Antenna Pairs to Plasmon-Enhance Solar Photovoltaics

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Modeling and fabricating nanotoroid antenna pairs to plasmon-enhance solar photovoltaicsThe objective of this research is to design and fabricate gold nanotoroid arrays in which coupled plasmon interactions enhance electromagnetic fields, to be measured by spectroscopy and electron microscopy. Radiative coupling between plasmons (oscillating free electrons confined to metal surfaces) on arrayed nanotoroids could improve light trapping in photovoltaics more than random nanoparticles or textured back contacts, which have not made solar power cost-competitive. Intellectual Merit. A novel solution will be developed that considers both near- and far-field interactions to identify nanotoroid radii and spacing that plasmon-enhance electromagnetic fields to maximize photovoltaic light trapping. Nanotoroid lattices fabricated by new methods and measures of far- and near-field enhancements by spectroscopy and electron microscopy will validate the solution. The PI and co-PI recently showed tunable resonances near semiconductor bandgaps, and extraordinary local fields in nanosphere arrays and in nanotoroid pairs, respectively. This motivates combining efforts to overcome three existing shortfalls: (1) low efficiency near photovoltaic bandgaps; (2) few models to design nanoarrays for photovoltaics; and (3) few direct measures of plasmon-enhanced fields coordinated with models.Broader Impacts. Two underrepresented graduate students will collaborate with researchers at Centers in Semiconductor Physics and Electronics in University of Arkansas, at Texas Instruments, Inc., and in France and Egypt to characterize these nanostructures. New cyberinfrastructure will transmit lab data to offices for real-time analysis. Ultimately, the PIs are working to self-assemble plasmonic nanostructures to transform applications in health, optoelectronics, and sensing, as well as solar energy.