Improvement of the efficiency and power output of solar cells using nanoparticles and annealing

•Silver nanoparticles were fabricated on the surface of solar cells by magnetron sputtering.•Optimization for the performance of solar cells was obtained by controlling the coverage of silver nanoparticles.•Improvement of power output and efficiency of solar cells was realized by annealing.

Silver nanoparticles have been deposited on crystalline Si solar cell surfaces using direct-current (DC) magnetron sputtering. The influence of localized surface plasmons in Ag nanoparticles (NPs) on the performance of annealed solar cells has been investigated. We find that the localized surface plasmons can improve the thermal stability of annealed solar cells. When the cell with 8% Ag nanoparticle coverage is annealed at 600 °C for 10 min, approximately 40% increase in short-circuit current (Isc) and approximately 50% increase in maximum power (Pm) are observed.