Optimization of Absorber and ETM Layer Thickness for Enhanced Tin based Perovskite Solar Cell Performance using SCAPS-1D Software

Abstract

The methyl ammonium tin iodide (〖CH〗_3 〖NH〗_3 〖SnI〗_3) perovskite nanocrystals have attracted research interest and have become a rising star in the horizon of photovoltaics due to its narrow band gap, wide visible absorption coefficient and environmental friendliness than its lead-based counterpart (〖CH〗_3 〖NH〗_3 〖PbI〗_3). In this article, a tin based perovskite solar cell with Zinc oxide (ZnO) and Copper Oxide (CuO) as electron transport medium (ETM) and hole transport medium (HTM) was proposed and investigated numerically using a Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS) tool. With appropriate parameters, a short-circuit current density (Jsc) of 27.56 mA/cm^2, open-circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.82 V, fill factor (FF) of 59.32 %, and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 13.41 % are obtained for the initial simulation. By varying the thicknesses of the absorber and electron transport layer, the optimum thicknesses were observed at 0.6 μm and 0.3 μm for 〖CH〗_3 〖NH〗_3 〖SnI〗_3 and ZnO with corresponding PCEs of 14.36 % and 13.42 %. Upon simulation with optimized parameters, a Jsc of 29.71 mA/cm^2, Voc of 0.83 V, FF of 61.23 % and PCE of 15.10 % were recorded. These values are superior to those obtained without optimization which means that solar cell performance can be improved to some extent by adjusting the perovskite and electron transport layer and also, 〖CH〗_3 〖NH〗_3 〖SnI〗_3 Perovskite solar cell (PSC) is a potential environmentally friendly solar cell with considerable efficiency.