Performance Enhancement of Environmental Friendly Ge‐Based Perovskite Solar Cell with Zn₃P₂ and SnS₂ as Charge Transport Layer Materials

Abstract

Today, the global world is concerned about the rapidly depleting fossil fuel reserves and the serious consequences of these fossil fuels on the environment have prompted an increase in interest in the development of clean and renewable energy sources. Currently, numerous inexhaustible power options, such as solar power, wind power, biomass, etc., are being implemented in the market. However, solar energy is abundant in our environment and is a safe and clean source of energy. As a result, considerable efforts were made in the development of advanced photovoltaic technology to achieve higher power conversion efficiency (PCE) and lower processing costs. In the last 10 years, technological advancements in organic-inorganic halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have demonstrated increased absorption coefficient, extended carrier-diffusion length, [1,2] improved carrier mobility, [3,4] ease of fabrication in a variety of areas, and the ability to meet photovoltaic application and space application requirements. [5][6][7] The Pbbased PSC device was initially developed by Kojima et al., who pioneered PSC research and reported a PCE of up to 3.8%. [8] Numerous studies conducted over the last decade have focused on Pb-based PSC devices as a light-absorbing material and have achieved an efficiency of approximately 25.2% in 2019. [9][10][11] The conventional formula of this device structure is ABX 3 which contains an organic methyl ammonium (CH 3 NH 3 þ ) [12] or formamidinium (NH ¼ CHNH 3 þ ) ion [13] and an inorganic element such as Pb, Ge, or Sn. [14,15] Despite its increased efficiency, the problem with this structure is its instability and toxicity, which prevents it from being used commercially. [16] To overcome these difficulties, germanium (Ge) can be used as a perovskite material to provide analogous optoelectronic properties to the PSC. Furthermore, Ge is a far superior contender in terms of stability and environmental friendliness. [17,18] Ge-based PSC devices are more thermally stable in the active layer than lead-based PSC devices, resulting in less material deterioration. [19,20] In the past, different researchers have synthesized Ge-based PSC devices. In 2013, Stoumpos et al., discovered unique nonlinear optical characteristics and a very unconventional structure in the Ge-based perovskite. [21] Following the synthesis of lead-free Ge perovskite materials in 2015, Krishnamoorthy et al. noticed that this class of photovoltaic materials showed a high potential for use in solar panels. [22] Recently, Kanoun et al. and Lakhdar et al. demonstrated computational analysis of the germanium structure of PSC devices, demonstrating an increase in the device's efficacy. [17,23] While researchers have demonstrated an increase in efficiency, the solar cell's current density ( J sc ) is extremely low, and a higher current density is required for the future of Ge-based perovskite solar cells (GBPSCs) with increased efficacy too.The GBPSC is constructed with an absorbance layer of germanium perovskite sandwiched between the ...

Theoretical Insights of Degenerate ZrS2 as a New Buffer for Highly Efficient Emerging Thin‐Film Solar Cells

“…[ 42 ] Solar cell performance can be investigated for up to seven layers by varying the essential parameters of each layer, including bandgap, absorption coefficient, affinity, thickness, density of states, permittivity, carrier concentration, various defects, mobility of electrons and holes, etc. [ 43 ] Moreover, it covers a wide range of AC and DC measurements such as current density–voltage ( J – V ), capacitance–voltage ( C–V ), capacitance–frequency ( C–f ), quantum efficiency (QE), energy band structures, electric field distribution, generation, recombination profiles, etc. These physical quantities are calculated by solving Poisson, continuity, and carrier transport equations of charge carriers which are built in the SCAPS‐1D software.…”

Efficiency Enhancement of Biophotovoltaic Solid‐State Solar Cells

“…works. [26][27][28][29] Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are one of the most important materials for the transfer layer. [30,31] MWCNTs have high conductivity (low resistivity), [32] proper position of the energy level relative to PSI, [33] and good bonding to PSI.…”

“…Transfer layers play an important role in increasing the efficiency of solar cells, which has been considered in previous works. [ 26–29 ] Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are one of the most important materials for the transfer layer. [ 30,31 ] MWCNTs have high conductivity (low resistivity), [ 32 ] proper position of the energy level relative to PSI, [ 33 ] and good bonding to PSI.…”

Investigation on the Performance Enhancement of Heterojunction SnS Thin-Film Solar Cell with a Zn3P2 Hole Transport Layer and a TiO2 Electron Transport Layer

“…On the other hand, the p-type semiconducting material Zn 3 P 2 as an HTL is added between the back electrode and the SnS absorber. The inorganic Zn 3 P 2 semiconductor has numerous characteristics, including a proper band gap, high carrier mobility, nontoxicity, abundance of elements, better reliability, and low cost, which make this material useful as an encouraging back surface passivation layer in the heterostructure PV devices. ,− Additionally, a low valence band offset (VBO) at the Zn 3 P 2 HTL/SnS absorber contact is predicted which will ensure easy hole passage from the absorber to the rear contact. , It is also expected that the addition of earth-abundant Zn 3 P 2 semiconductor as an HTL with promising optoelectronic properties will minimize the total expenditure of the solar system by lessening the absorber thickness …”