Au nanoparticles (NPs)/(n-type)a-Si:H/(p-type)c-Si heterojunctions have been deposited combining plasma-enhanced chemical-vapour deposition (PECVD) with Au sputtering. We demonstrate that a density of similar to 1.3 x 10(11) cm(-2) of Au nanoparticles with an approximately 20 nm diameter deposited onto (n-type)a-Si:H/(p-type)c-Si heterojunctions enhance performance exploiting the improved absorption of light by the surface plasmon resonance of Au NPs. In particular, Au NPs/(n-type)a-Si:H/(p-type)c-Si show an enhancement of 20% in the short-circuit current, J(SC), 25% in the power output, P(max) and 3% in the fill factor, FF, compared to heterojunctions without Au NPs. Structures have been characterized by spectroscopic ellipsometry, atomic force microscopy and current-voltage (I-V) measurements to correlate the plasmon resonance-induced enhanced absorption of light with photovoltaic performance. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.