1. Plasmon enhanced thin-film solar cells: Advanced theoretical analysis and ellipsometric characterization Supervisor: Jesper Jung Postdoc jung@nano.aau.dk Room: 5.140

2. Introduction Present day solar cells – Silicon Abundance in nature Microelectronic industry – Thick (~250  m) – Expensive

3. The idea of the project Plasmon enhanced solar cells – Thin-film silicon layer (~2  m) – Metal nanoparticels Localized surface plasmon resonances Scatter and enhance light strongly at LSP resonances Analysis using ellipsometry – Theoretical model – Sample fabrication – Measurements

4. Possible contents Theoretical work – Modeling of light scattering and absorption of metal nanoparticles in layered geometries – Effective medium theory (Maxwell-Garnett) – Modeling of ellipsometer systems Experimental work – Fabrication of metal nanoparticles – Fabrication of thin film structures – Measuring using the ellipsometer in the clean room