Advancements in P3HT:PCBM solar cells through experimental and simulated techniques

Abstract

Organic solar cells are a promising alternative in photovoltaics due to their low manufacturing cost and flexibility. In this study, we developed an organic solar cell of structure (ITO/PEDOT:PSS/P3HT:PCBM/Al) where the active layer is represented by P3HT:PCBM. Experimental studies revealed that this layer has an energy gap of 1.9 eV and a good absorption coefficient of 〖3×10〗^5 〖cm〗^(-1). Using analytical and experimental methods based on (J-V-T) curves, we extracted the key parameters of our device, including parasitic resistances (R_s and R_sh), ideality factor (n), and Schottky potential barrier (ϕ_B) at different temperatures. Also the charge transport mechanism in our junction is identified in this study. We then used simulation to evaluate the performance of our solar cell, obtaining an initial efficiency of 2.13%, in line with experimental results from other research. Our results confirm the feasibility of our theoretical approach, with performance consistent with previous work. However, by introducing an ETL layer (PFN-Br or PDINO), we were able to improve efficiency up to 4.25%. These results highlight the importance of optimising intermediate layers to maximise the efficiency of organic solar cells.

Improving CZTS/ZTO solar cell efficiency with inorganic BSF layers

“…SCAPS 1D works on the basis of three fundamental equations: the Poisson equation and the continuity equations for electrons and holes. These equations are defined as equations ( 1)-(3) [4,17,37,38].…”

“…In each study, the aim is to determine the optimum parameters that can be used to achieve maximum efficiency. The greater the thickness of the absorber layer, the more solar photons it can absorb [5,38]. However, it has been shown that charge carrier recombination can occur when the thickness exceeds a certain limit, which is due to the lengthening of the escape path for charge carriers outside the depletion region [17].…”

“…It is known that temperature increases the kinetic energy of charge carriers which increases their velocity and reduces the binding energy (according to the semiconductor binding model). This increase in velocity increases the probability of shock between the charge carriers and the fixed particles of the semiconductor crystal lattice, resulting in a loss of power [23,38,54].…”

“…In the single-diode circuit, the (p-n) junction is symbolized by a diode, and two parasitic resistors are considered: R s (series resistance), which represents the effects of contacts between the different layers and defects in each layer, and another resistor R sh (Shunt resistance), which represents leakage currents due to recombinations. Several investigations are under way to extract these resistances from the experimental I-V curve of the solar cell [4,17,38,55].…”