Simulation of the absorber layer thickness variation in SnS solar cells using Matlab

Abstract

The study of thin-film solar cells based on tin sulphide is becoming increasingly relevant due to its advantages over similar technologies, such as its low cost, toxicity, and the fact that its constituent elements are more abundant in the earth's crust; besides, they could be made by thigh vacuum techniques like thermal spraying, sputtering, co-evaporation, or thermal evaporation. On the other hand, Simulations allow modelling of the behaviour of solar cells to understand the processes and improve the device's efficiency. Therefore, in this work, the simulation process is carried out using mathematical models that represent the physical behaviour of the solar cell made of heterojunction of several thin films with ZnO/ZnS/SnS configuration. Two radiation models were evaluated, one using a theoretical equation and the other with data from the incident radiation. Until today, different simulations of solar cells have been carried out mainly using a Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS); however, this research was developed using MATLAB due to its performance and efficiency. The optimal thickness of the absorbent layer was established from the results obtained for open circuit voltage (Voc), short circuit current density (Jsc), fill factor and conversion efficiency (n).