Evaluation of a proposed barium di-silicide tandem solar cell using TCAD numerical simulation

Abstract

Barium di-silicide (BaSi2) material has attracted noteworthy interest in photovoltaics, thanks to its stability, abundant nature, and excellent production feasibility. In this current work, a two-terminal (2T) monolithic all-BaSi2 tandem solar cell is proposed and explored through extensive TCAD simulation. A BaSi2 bottom sub-cell with a bandgap of 1.3 eV, and a Ba(CxSi1−x)2 top sub-cell with a tunable bandgap are employed in the design. It was found that a bandgap of 1.8 eV, which corresponds to x = 0.78, is the optimum choice to obtain the maximum initial power conversion efficiency (η) of 30%. Then, the tandem performance is optimized by investigating the impact of doping and the thickness of both absorber layers. Further, the current matching point is monitored whilst altering the thickness of the top cell resulting in η = 32.83%%, and a short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 16.47 mA/cm2. Additionally, we have explored the influence of the defect density in the absorbers, and the work function of contacts on the performance parameters. All TCAD simulations are accomplished using the Silvaco Atlas package under AM1.5G illumination.

Investigation of Polymer/Si Thin Film Tandem Solar Cell Using TCAD Numerical Simulation

“…Various software packages can be utilized to assess the performance of single or multijunction solar cells, like SCAPS [40,41], Silvaco [6,12,42], COMSOL [43], AMPS [44], and wxAMPS [45]. This study uses the Silvaco TCAD simulator to model and simulate the proposed tandem cell's electrical and optical characteristics.…”

“…Second, a generation based on amorphous and microcrystalline thin film silicon, copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS), cadmium sulfide (CdS), and cadmium telluride (CdTe). New compounds like organics, polymers and perovskites, and structures like tandem solar cells (TSCs) are the base of the third generation [4][5][6][7][8]. According to the non-toxicity, stability, abundancy, and well-known technology of silicon, silicon solar cells demonstrate the highest share of solar cells' market.…”

Comparative Study of Different Perovskite Active Layers for Attaining Higher Efficiency Solar Cells: Numerical Simulation Approach

“…In addition to the SCAPS-1D simulator, modeling solar cell devices may also be done using other simulating programs such as AFORS-HET, TCAD, Silvaco ATLAS, and Lumerical. However, device optimization is not available in all sorts of solar cells in PV solar cells due to a few limitations and insufficient methods in physical models and parameters [56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63]. However, the main issue with the SCAPS-1D is the struggle to solve multi-dimensional issues, and it is also difficult to comprehend the findings in detail.…”