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 degrees C for 10 min, approximately 40% increase in short-circuit current (I-se) and approximately 50% increase in maximum power (P-m) are observed. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.