Plasmonic nanostructures for organic photovoltaic devices

Abstract

Due to the increasing demand on high-efficiency organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices, light management technique has become an active research subject. Especially, plasmonic approach was proven to be suitable for application in OPV and has shown lots of successful results. In this review, we summarize recent studies on plasmonic nanostructures for OPV with their underlying enhancement mechanisms. Optical absorption enhancement by the resonant scattering and the strong plasmonic near field will be discussed for various implementation geometries including metal nanoparticles, patterned electrodes, and plasmonic metamaterials. In addition, we will also look into the electrical effects originating from plasmonic nanostructures, which inevitably affect the device's efficiency. Future research directions will be also discussed.