With the advances in the field of plasmonics, techniques for trapping and localizing light have become more feasible at the nanoscale. Several works have shown that plasmonics-based photovoltaic devices have yielded an improved absorption capability, enabling the design of thin-layered photovoltaic absorbers. In this review, we shed light on recent advances that employ plasmonics and nano-sized structures and thin-film technologies intended to increase solar cell efficiency. In this work, we provide an overview of the challenges associated with developing high-efficiency solar cells. Despite significant efforts by numerous groups to improve the efficiency of solar cells, practical realization of these concepts has yet to materialize. The conclusions made here hope to encourage researchers to re-examine the factors and challenges that could have created barriers to full realization of all concepts proposed over the past 15 years. In fact, because of the immense impact of improving the efficiency of solar cells on the environment and economy, it is hoped that this review encourages new technology paradigms that can be translated into commercially viable products.

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使用等离子体和纳米颗粒提高太阳能电池的效率：最新技术回顾

随着等离子技术领域的进步，用于捕获和定位光的技术在纳米级变得更加可行。几项工作表明，基于等离激元的光伏器件已经提高了吸收能力，从而可以设计薄层光伏吸收体。在这篇综述中，我们阐明了利用等离子和纳米尺寸结构以及旨在提高太阳能电池效率的薄膜技术的最新进展。在这项工作中，我们概述了与开发高效太阳能电池相关的挑战。尽管许多团体为提高太阳能电池的效率做出了巨大的努力，但是这些概念的实际实现尚未实现。此处得出的结论旨在鼓励研究人员重新审视可能为全面实现过去15年提出的所有概念设置障碍的因素和挑战。实际上，由于提高太阳能电池效率对环境和经济的巨大影响，希望这篇评论鼓励能够转化为商业上可行产品的新技术范例。