Design and simulation of a high-performance Cd-free Cu2SnSe3 solar cells with SnS electron-blocking hole transport layer and TiO2 electron transport layer by SCAPS-1D

Abstract

This article presents numerical investigations of the novel (Ni/SnS/Cu2SnSe3/TiO2/ITO/Al) heterostructure of Cu2SnSe3 based solar cell using SCAPS-1D simulator. Purpose of this research is to explore the influence of SnS hole transport layer (HTL) and TiO2 electron transport layer (ETL) on the performance of the proposed cell. Based on the proposed device architecture, effects of thickness and carrier concentration of absorber layer, SnS HTL, TiO2 ETL, absorber layer defect density, operating temperature and back-contact metal work function (BMWF) are studied to improve the cell performance. Our initial simulation results show that if SnS HTL is not introduced, the efficiency of standard Cu2SnSe3 cell is 1.66%, which is well agreed with the reported experimental results in literature. However, by using SnS and TiO2 as HTL and ETL, respectively and optimizing the cell parameters, a simulated efficiency of up to 27% can be achieved. For Cu2SnSe3 absorber layer, 5 × 1017 cm−3 and 1500 nm are the optimal values of carrier concentration and thickness, respectively. On the other hand, the BMWF is estimated to be greater than 5.2 eV for optimum cell performance. Results of this contribution can provide constructive research avenues for thin-films photovoltaic industry to fabricate cost-effective, high-efficiency and cadmium-free Cu2SnSe3-based solar cells.

Performance Enhancement of an MoS2-Based Heterojunction Solar Cell with an In2Te3 Back Surface Field: A Numerical Simulation Approach

“…The charge carriers may recombine before arriving at the charge accumulating metal contact if the absorber is too thick . The lifetime of light -induced electrons shortens as the acceptor carrier concentration raises that limiting collection of carriers at the interface as a result, J SC reduces . Due to high carrier concentration (>10 18 cm –3 ) of the MoS 2 absorber layer, J SC starts to decrease.…”

“… 41 The lifetime of light -induced electrons shortens as the acceptor carrier concentration raises that limiting collection of carriers at the interface as a result, J SC reduces. 42 Due to high carrier concentration (>10 18 cm –3 ) of the MoS 2 absorber layer, J SC starts to decrease. The FF also reduces with the enhancement of the doping density (>10 16 cm –3 ) with lower thickness (>1000 nm) in MoS 2 absorber layer as represented in Figure 2 c. The PCE decreases due to the combined reduction of the J SC and FF at higher doping density (>10 16 cm –3 ) and absorber layer thickness (>1000 nm).…”

Performance analysis of WSe2-based bifacial solar cells with different electron transport and hole transport materials by SCAPS-1D

“…At present, the PCE of CZTS/CZTSSe devices has advanced to 13.0 % in 2021 [ 3 ], which is far behind the CdTe and CIGS-based devices. Very recent theoretical studies predict that 31 % PCE of CZTS/CTSe-based SCs can be achieved by engineering the conduction band edges between the buffer and the absorber layer to reduce non-radiative recombination at the interfaces and utilizing the back surface field layer between the back-electrode and absorber layer [ 6 , 7 ]. In recent years, the emergence of hybrid perovskite SCs is noticeable because of their suitable optoelectrical properties, low fabrication costs, and its efficiency cross-over the commercialization demarcation line and ramped up to 25.5 % level in just a few years [ 3 ].…”

Machine Learning Approach to Delineate the Impact of Material Properties on Solar Cell Device Physics

“…SCAPS solves three systems of equations for the carriers: 32 transport, Poisson, and continuity. The following is the carrier continuity equation: …”