Plasmonic Ag Nanowire Coated With ZnO Dense Layers or ZnO Nanoparticles as Transparent Electrode for Organic Photovoltaics

ABSTRACT The finite difference time domain (FDTD) method has been used to model the optical properties of ZnO/Ag/ZnO (ZAZ) multilayer structure. We proposed two configurations: a 5‐ to 15‐nm‐thick ZnO dense layer (DL) and ZnO nanoparticle (NP) coatings in monolayer, bilayer, and trilayer around Ag nanowire (AgNW) with a 30‐nm diameter. The configurations were designed to improve the ZAZ electrode performance in organic photovoltaics (OPVs). The plasmonic resonance behavior of ZnO coated AgNW was analyzed in air and later incorporated into a ZAZ electrode with PM6:Y6 (active layer), yielding excellent plasmonic results for both configurations. Our results further reveal that ZnO DL coatings offer superior field confinement, while ZnO NP coating shows promising light‐scattering capabilities, particularly beneficial for maximizing energy transfer to the active layer in OPV devices. The experimental transmission spectra of ZAZ electrodes closely align with the theoretical model, confirming their accuracy. Integrating ZnO NP layers into ZAZ electrodes with strong plasmonic performance offers promising potential for enhancing light absorption in the photoactive layer and improved device efficiency.