Numerical modeling and analysis of AZO/Cu₂O transparent solar cell with a TiO₂ buffer layer

Abstract

In the present work, titanium dioxide (TiO2) is sandwiched as a buffer layer between n-type aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) and p-type cuprous oxide (Cu2O), increasing the efficiency of metal oxide-based solar cells. The effects of the device parameters such as thicknesses, carrier concentrations, and defect densities were investigated by numerical simulation to obtain optimal performance of Cu2O-based solar cells. Our findings reveal that by the incorporation of TiO2 thin film, the efficiency of the solar cell increases remarkably from 2.54 % to 5.02 %. The optimal thicknesses of the Cu2O and TiO2 layers are in the range of 10 μm and 0.1 μm, respectively. We obtained optimal photo-electric conversion efficiency of 10.17 % and open-circuit voltage of 1.35 V while achieving 8.90 mA/cm2 short-circuit current density and 84.12 % fill factor, using structure parameters of 0.2 μm AZO, 0.1 μm TiO2 and 10 μm Cu2O with optimal acceptor-type dopant density in Cu2O of 1E17 cm-3 and donor-type dopant density in TiO2 of 1E18 cm-3.

On Numerical Modelling and an Experimental Approach to Heterojunction Tandem Solar Cells Based on Si and Cu2O/ZnO—Results and Perspectives

“…The developed electrical model of an SHTSC device was based on five main simulation software tools: the first four, (a) Afors-Het 2.5.0 [31], (b) wxAMPS-2D, (c) Silvaco Atlas TCAD, and (d) AMPS-1D [32], were used for the Cu 2 O/ZnO top subcell, and (e) PC1D v5.9/Quokka 2 v FRC was used for the bottom c-Si subcell [5,26,32].…”

“…The following interesting results based on the four simulation tools used for numerical modelling of the Cu 2 O/ZnO top subcell were noted: ZnO/Cu 2 O SCs with a TiO 2 buffer layer were analysed by the AMPS-1D (Analysis of Microelectronic and Photonic Structures-1D) simulation software tool [32]. TiO 2 behaved as an active material that absorbed photons and converted them into electric current, having a band gap around 3.2-3.8 eV, which allows the effective absorption of UV light [33,34].…”

“…Figure 7a,b exhibit the external quantum efficiency (EQE) and J-V simulation graphs for Cu 2 O/TiO 2 /AZO; they increase for the whole spectrum range with the addition of a TiO 2 buffer layer [32]. Figure 8a,b exhibit experimental J-V plots, in the dark and light, before annealing and after annealing for a TiO 2 /Cu 2 O solar cell [37].…”

“…Figure 7. (a) EQE simulation diagram of a Cu 2 O/AZO-based SC for two cases, respectively: AZO/Cu 2 O and AZO/TiO 2 /Cu 2 O heterojunctions, both under solar illumination; (b) J-V simulation (J-V characteristics) diagram of a Cu 2 O/AZO-based SC for two cases, respectively: AZO/Cu 2 O and AZO/TiO 2 /Cu 2 O heterojunctions, both under solar illumination (see[32]). …”

A new scheme of all-optical 2:1 multiplexer (MUX) and MUX-based combinational circuits using nonlinear kerr-type materials

“…In the last few decades, photonics has advanced significantly relative to conventional electronics, offering faster data transmission, reduced energy consumption, and increased bandwidth [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Innovations in photonic devices, such as optical switches and multiplexers, have revolutionized communication technologies, paving the way for more efficient and high-speed data processing.…”