Diogo F. Carvalho

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have achieved exceptional light‐to‐power conversion efficiencies, yet their optical losses, particularly in the near‐infrared, still limit full photovoltaic potential. The integration of plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) has emerged as an effective light‐management strategy to overcome these limitations by enhancing optical absorption and tailoring charge‐carrier dynamics. This review provides a comprehensive overview of analytical and numerical studies focused on plasmonic‐enhanced PSCs, including the underlying enhancement mechanisms. The influence of NP material, geometry, size, spatial distribution, and embedding layer on device performance is systematically discussed. Finally, the main challenges and future perspectives in bridging theoretical predictions with experimental realization are highlighted, outlining guidelines for the rational optical design of next‐generation plasmonic PSCs.

Improving the interface passivation and charge selectivity of electron transport layers (ETLs) is essential to enhance both performance and operational stability in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). In this work, we introduce a sputtered double compact TiO₂ ETL incorporating monodisperse Au nanoparticles (NPs) as an electronically active interlayer. The sputtering process ensures conformal encapsulation of the NPs and precise control of TiO₂ sublayer thickness, providing a highly controlled platform to disentangle structural, optical, and electronic effects of embedded metal NPs. This architecture enables, for the first time, a systematic investigation of an electron-sink-induced field-effect modulation of the AuNPs@TiO₂/perovskite interface. By precisely controlling NP size (15 and 55 nm), loading (0.15-1.20 wt %), and TiO₂ encapsulation thickness (5-20 nm), we identified an optimized architecture that delivers a 1.3% absolute gain in light-to-power conversion efficiency, primarily through increased short-circuit current density. Structural and optical analyses confirm that NPs are uniformly embedded without modifying the TiO₂ crystallinity and electronic structure. The results indicate that embedded Au NPs may passivate interface traps and enhance ETL selectivity, while their electron-sink behavior transiently captures charge and modulates the interface potential. At high NP concentrations (>0.30 wt %), overlapping depletion regions lead to transport constrictions and increased transport resistance. Furthermore, the Au NPs appear to suppress the UV-driven photocatalytic activity of TiO₂, improving device operational stability. These findings reveal a new electron-sink mechanism in metal-oxide/metal-NP systems and establish sputtered AuNPs@TiO₂ ETLs as a scalable route toward more selective and stable perovskite photovoltaics.

The realization of semiconductor heterostructures marks a significant advancement beyond silicon technology, driving progress in high‐performance optoelectronics and photonics, including high‐brightness light emitters, optical communication, and quantum technologies. In less than a decade since 1997, nanowires research has expanded into new application‐driven areas, highlighting a significant shift toward more challenging and exploratory research avenues. It is therefore essential to reflect on the past motivations for nanowires development, and explore the new opportunities it can enable. The advancement of heterogeneous integration using dissimilar substrates, materials, and nanowires‐semiconductor/electrolyte operating platforms is ushering in new research frontiers, including the development of perovskite‐embedded solar cells, photoelectrochemical (PEC) analog and digital photonic systems, such as PEC‐based photodetectors and logic circuits, as well as quantum elements, such as single‐photon emitters and detectors. This review offers rejuvenating perspectives on the progress of these group‐III nitride nanowires, aiming to highlight the continuity of research toward high impact, use‐inspired research directions in photonics and optoelectronics.

Sonochemical-assisted synthesis using environmentally friendly solvents produces photoluminescent CsPbBr₃ perovskite quantum dots as an optically active crystalline phase for fabricating solar cells.

350 nm and 550 nm thick InGaN/GaN bilayers were irradiated with different energies (from ∼82 to ∼38 MeV) of xenon (¹²⁹Xe) ions and different fluences of 1.2 GeV lead (²⁰⁸Pb) ions, respectively.

A semi-analytical method based on DDA is reported to simulate with very low computational times the far-field and near-field properties of large arrays of metallic NPs, considering the NP coupling, and the effect of a semiconductor substrate.