Ting, I-Hung
(2012)
Optical Properties of Self-organized Silver Nano-island Thin Films.
Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
For wide-spread use and large-scale implementation of photovoltaic (PV) modules, a major improvement has to be made in both energy conversion efficiency and manufacturing cost. Improving light absorption, on both spatial and spectral domains, is a critical requirement in most PV cell designs. In thin-film solar cells, in particular, light usually is not completely absorbed in single pass transmission through the active layer, therefore proper ‘management’ of incident photons is particularly important. Plasmonic nanostructures can play a versatile role in mediating light-matter interactions, e.g., enhancing the scattering cross-sections (metal nanoparticles), concentrating the near field intensity (metal corners and nanoapertures) and coupling of light into waveguide modes (nanogratings), potentially beneficial for enhancing light absorption.
In the study, optical properties of metal island thin films were characterized. Metal nano-islands were formed by performing thermal annealing of Ag films deposited on silica surface. The optical transmission, reflection, and extinction characteristics were analyzed for various incident angles as a function of film thickness and anneal temperature. The metal island formation is correlated to the evolution of transmission spectra, which involves surface plasmon resonance.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
|
| Date: |
4 June 2012 |
| Date Type: |
Publication |
| Defense Date: |
29 March 2012 |
| Approval Date: |
4 June 2012 |
| Submission Date: |
30 March 2012 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Number of Pages: |
84 |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
Swanson School of Engineering > Electrical Engineering |
| Degree: |
MSEE - Master of Science in Electrical Engineering |
| Thesis Type: |
Master's Thesis |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
surface plasmon effect, extinction, silver island |
| Date Deposited: |
04 Jun 2012 17:31 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 13:57 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/11617 |
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