Results in Optics 15 (2024) 100647

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Results in Optics
journal homepage: www.sciencedirect.com/journal/results-in-optics

Device modelling and numerical analysis of high-efficiency double

absorbers solar cells with diverse transport layer materials
Sheikh Hasib Cheragee a, b, *, Mohammad Jahangir Alam a
a
Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
b
Department of Computer Science and Engineering, State University of Bangladesh, Dhaka 1461, Bangladesh

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Recently, a lot of focus has been placed on cesium lead iodide (CsPbI3) since it is considered a potentially useful
Modeling inorganic halide perovskite with improved stability. Moreover, another potential absorber material is the mixed
Double absorber solar cell chalcogenide CZTSSe, which is abundant on Earth, cheap, environmentally acceptable, and has excellent
Simulation
photovoltaic performance. This research numerically simulated a novel double absorber solar cell structure
PCE
SCAPS-1D
employing CsPbI3 and CZTSSe absorbers in the active layer in SCAPS-1D. The current study analyses the effects
of various electron and hole transport materials, back contact material’s work functions, working temperatures,
variations in defect concentration, and absorber thickness on the performance of photovoltaic devices. After
researching a variety of distinct arrangements of double absorber solar cells, it was realized that the FTO/STO/
CsPbI3/CZTSSe/NiO/W cell configuration exhibited the best overall performance with an open circuit voltage
(Voc) at 1.0207 V, a short circuit current density (Jsc) at 41.815426 mA/cm2, Fill Factor (FF) at 87.50 %, and a
Power Conversion Efficiency (PCE) at 37.35 %. The modeling of the device showed that a thickness of around
1.4 µm for the CZTSSe absorber is optimal. This simulation shows that when the working temperature in the cell
and the defect concentration in the absorber increase, the efficiency of the device reduces uniformly, and the
device is stable at 300 K temperature. In conclusion, if the material’s work function is greater than 5.20 eV, then
it is suitable for use as an anode.

1. Introduction based solar cell by using a solution processing method, and the device’s
overall efficiency comes out to 17.81 % (Enayati Maklavani and
Solar energy and other renewable technologies are widely seen as Mohammadnejad, 2020). However, double-absorber solar cells were
viable options for clean energy sources that may alleviate the negative successfully constructed by Alzoubi et al., achieving a PCE of 19.40 %
environmental consequences of the coal and power sectors, minimize (AlZoubi et al., 2021). High-efficiency perovskite/perovskite double
ancillary waste, and provide a long-term answer to the world’s energy absorber solar cells were investigated by Abedini-Ahangarkola et al.
issues. Single-junction solar cells cannot overcome their Shockley- utilizing SCAPS-1D, with an overall Efficiency of 30.29 % (Abedini-
Queasier limit because of the absorber material’s bandgap that limits Ahangarkola et al., 2022).
the quantity of light that can be absorbed (Eg). Besides, researchers are Double absorber solar cells have been the subject of significant
very interested in organic–inorganic metal halide materials for photo­ research and development. Yet, single-layer perovskite cells are more
voltaics because of their unique properties such as larger absorption efficient than these devices, but they still have room to improve. As a
coefficient, greater charge carriers’ mobility, extended electron and hole result, academics put significant efforts into designing Double-absorber
diffusion length, adjustable bandgap creation, large dielectric constant, solar cells. In this context, Inorganic halide perovskite materials CsPbX3
solution-treated manufacturing process (Li et al., 2020). More recently, (where, X = I, Br, Cl) have been reported to have greater thermostability
double absorber solar cells have been extensively researched to improve than that of the organic–inorganic hybrid perovskite (Sutton et al.,
device performance further because a solar cell with two absorber layers 2016) and noteworthy PV performance, in which CsPbI3 with cubic
will be more effective since it can collect solar photons throughout a structure shows the optimal bandgap of 1.73 eV for PV cells (Eperon
wider spectrum. In this context, Maklavani et al. realize a CZTSe/CZTS- et al., 2014; Chen et al., 2019), and is also a suitable candidate to design

* Corresponding author at: Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh.
E-mail address: [email protected] (S.H. Cheragee).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rio.2024.100647
Received 24 October 2023; Received in revised form 17 February 2024; Accepted 22 February 2024
Available online 24 February 2024
2666-9501/© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
nc-nd/4.0/).
S.H. Cheragee and M.J. Alam Results in Optics 15 (2024) 100647

double absorber cells (Ahmad et al., 2017). However, CZTSSe is an

excellent material for PV applications (Simya et al., 2016; Moham­
madnejad and Baghban Parashkouh, 2017) because of its kesterite-type
crystalline form as a stable crystalline stage, components with no
toxicity, the composition of Earth-abundancy, cost-effective power
generation (Khattak et al., 2018), higher adsorption coefficient
>104 cm− 1, and the tunability of the band gap, which varies wildly from
0.95 eV to 1.5 eV. Besides, Choosing the appropriate ETM and HTM of
this structure can enhance performance, boost hole extraction from the
perovskite, and make it easier to move through structures, all of which
contribute to improving the repeatability and stability of double
absorber solar cells. To maintain consistency and the appropriate
qualities, the ETL and HTL layers should be deposited utilizing tech­
niques such solution processing, chemical vapor deposition, and phys­
ical vapor deposition. Spin-coating, that’s preferred method for the
absorber layer is a popular approach for depositing perovskite films
because it is easy to use, can be scaled up, and produces high-quality
films.
Here, SCAPS-1D was utilized to design and simulate a hybrid double-
absorber solar cell manufactured by CsPbI3 and CZTSSe as the top and
bottom absorbers. The motivation underlying this combination is to
improve the overall stability and performance of the solar cell by taking
use of the complementing qualities of both materials. In order to
maximize light absorption and charge carrier production by utilizing
both materials, it is intended to alleviate stability difficulties frequently
associated with pure perovskite-based devices by integrating CZTSSe
into the device design alongside perovskite. Furthermore, the fusion of
CZTSSe with perovskite enables the investigation of innovative device
topologies and the enhancement of device efficiency. Because of the
limitations of SCAPS-1D, it is considered that there is a precise tunneling
link between the top and bottom absorbers free of optical and electrical
loss. Double absorber solar cells’ performance is studied using various
transport materials, including PCBM, STO, C60, CdS as ETL and NiO,
Cu2Te, CuSCN, and spiro-OMeTAD as HTL. Additionally, the influence
Fig. 1. Flow chart of Simulation Procedure for SCAPS-1D.
of operating temperature, defect concentration of the active layer, and
absorber layer thickness on the efficiency of the proposed double active
layer solar cell is explored. Device combinations with promising per­ ∂2 φ ∂E ρ
formance include solar cells with several different back contacts like Poisson Equations′ : = − = −
∂2 x ∂x εs
carbon (5.0 eV), gold (5.1 eV), tungsten (5.2 eV), Palladium (5.3 eV), q
nickel (5.5 eV), platinum (5.65 eV), and selenium (5.9 eV), are studied = − [p − n+ND (x) − NA (x) ± Ndef (x) (1)
εs
accordingly (Tariq Jan and Noman, 2022; Omarova et al., 2022; Deepthi
Jayan and Sebastian, 2021; Raoui et al., 2019). It is found that the ∂n ∂p
Transport Equation : Jn,p = nqμn E + qDn + pqμp E + qDp (2)
optimal double absorber structure for absorbers having an energy gap of ∂x ∂ϰ
1.73 and 1.15 eV achieved a PCE of 37.35 %. The findings of our pro­ √̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
posed structure will provide researchers working on future experiments Diffusion length : Ln,p = Dn,p τn,p (3)
with a plethora of data. [( ) ]
kB T
Diffusivity Dn,p = μn,p (4)
2. Simulation methodology and device structure q

2.1. Simulation methodology ∂n,p 1 ∂Jn 1 ∂Jp ( )

Continuity Equation : = + (Gn − Rn ) + + Gp − Rp . (5)
∂t q ∂x q ∂x
The simulations were carried out with the most recent version, [ ( )]
nkB T IL
3.3.10, of the SCAPS-1D numerical program. This 1-dimensional solar Open circuit voltage : voc = ln +1 (6)
cell modelling program was created at Gent University in Belgium q I0
(Burgelman et al., 2013). It is chosen to utilize SCAPS as our solar device
1
simulator because the findings of its simulations are in excellent Carrier lifetime : τ = (7)
σ Nt vtḣ
agreement with those obtained from previous experiments (Sharbati
et al., 2018) and are preferable to other solar device simulator software. Where φ = cells electrostatic potential, E is the electric field,
Fig. 1 depicts the flowchart of the simulation process for SCAPS-1D. The ε = materials permittivity, n & p = free electron and hole concentration,
structure can add as many as seven distinct layers when using SCAPS. NA & ND are as doping concentration, Ndef = probable defect concen­
After the structure is specified, solving the following differential equa­ tration, μn,p = mobility of electron or hole, ρ and q are referred to as
tions allows SCAPS to be utilized to compute a variety of PV perfor­
elemental charges τn,p = lifetime of electron or hole, ∂n,px = concentration
∂
mance metrics:
gradient of electron or hole, Gn,p = rate of optical generation, Rn,p = rate
of recombination, kBqT = thermal voltage, IL = generated current by light

2
S.H. Cheragee and M.J. Alam Results in Optics 15 (2024) 100647

and I0 = saturation current (Tariq Jan and Noman, 2022). the electron affinity, vte, vth, μn, and μp indicate the thermal velocity and
electrons and holes mobility, ND and NA stands for donors and acceptors
2.2. Device structure density and Nt represents the density of total defects. In addition, Table 2
also specifies the values for the parameters that control the relative
The proposed design of a Double absorber solar cell is FTO/STO/ strengths of the ETL/CsPbI3 and CZTSSe/HTL interactions. Here, the
CsPbI3/CZTSSe/NiO/W, where FTO is utilized as a transparent con­ total interface defect density was kept constant throughout the experi­
ducting oxide (TCO), STO as ETL, CsPbI3 & CZTSSe as active layers, NiO ment to investigate the impact of defect density. In addition, the inter­
as HTL, and Tungsten (W) as a back electrode are depicted in Fig. 2(a). face characteristics shared by ETL/CsPbI3 and CZTSSe/HTL are detailed
Here, all simulations have been performed at 300 K, with a frequency of in Table 2.
1.0 × 106 Hz and illumination at the usual AM 1.5 G 1 sun. Firstly,
simulation was used to optimize the absorber layer’s thickness, and the 3. Results and discussions
other layers’ thicknesses were set according to the literature. In this
case, a tunnel connection between two absorbers with zero electrical 3.1. Influence of several ETLs depending on NiO as HTL on Double
resistance and zero optical loss is imagined. Double absorber solar cells absorber solar cell
should include a conformal recombination layer inserted between the
absorber layers to reduce shunting and shield the top layers from sol­ This section explores various substances as ETL, with NiO serving as
vents and sputtering damage (Abedini-Ahangarkola et al., 2022). An the HTL. Since the ETL layer is essential for effective electron extraction
illustration of the proposed structure’s energy levels is depicted in Fig. 2 to the front contact from the absorber layer, so it is crucial to choose an
(b). Fig. 2(c) depicts the external quantum efficiency (EQE) spectra of appropriate ETL material to maximize performance. Table 3 summarizes
optimized device structure, where the wavelengths changed from 200 to the literature-referenced simulation parameters for evaluating the in­
1000 nm. Parameters for the electrical systems employed in the simu­ fluence of distinct ETL materials on device functionality. Several types of
lations are summarized in Table 1; these values were derived from ETL materials, including PCBM, STO, C60, and CdS, are investigated.
published experimental and computational work, where Eg represents Band alignment diagrams for several ETLs with top absorber CsPbI3 are
the bandgap, W represents the thickness of the layer, εr represents the shown in Fig. 3. Table 4 summarizes the results of a comparison of the
relative dielectric constant, Nv, and Nc represents the effective density of Performance of various ETLs used in Double absorber structures,
states for valance band and conduction band accordingly, χ represents revealing that the structure using STO as ETL achieves the highest

Fig. 2. Schematic of Proposed: (a) device structure, (b) Energy Band Alignment Diagram, (c) external quantum efficiency spectra.

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S.H. Cheragee and M.J. Alam Results in Optics 15 (2024) 100647

Table 1
Parameters that are utilized to conduct this simulation:
Parameters FTO (Rai et al., 2020) STO (Singh et al., 2020) CsPbI3 (Lin et al., 2020) CZTSSe (Et-taya et al., 2020) NiO (Abedini-Ahangarkola et al., 2022)

W (µm) 0.4 0.07 0.01 1.4 0.350

Eg (eV) 3.5 3.2 1.73 1.15 3.6
x (eV) 4.00 4.00 3.95 4.1 1.8
Єr 9.0 8.7 6.0 13.60 11.75
Nc (1/cm3) 2.02 × 1018 1.7 × 1019 1.1 × 1020 2.2 × 1018 2.5 × 1020
Nv (1/cm3) 1.80 × 1019 2 × 1020 8 × 1019 1.8 × 1019 2.5 × 1020
Vte (cms− 1) 1 × 107 1 × 107 1 × 107 1 × 107 1 × 107
Vtp (cms− 1) 1 × 107 1 × 107 1 × 107 1 × 107 1 × 107
µn (cm2/Vs) 20 5.3 × 103 16 100 2 × 10− 1
µp(cm2/Vs) 10 6.6 × 102 16 25 2 × 10− 1
ND (1/cm3) 2 × 1019 2 × 1016 0 0 0
NA (1/cm3) 0 0 1 × 1015 1 × 1018 5 × 1018
Nt (1/cm3) 1 × 1015 1 × 1015 2.07 × 1014 1 × 1012 1 × 1015

Table 2 Table 4
Interface Defect Parameters used in this simulation. A comparison of the different ETLs’ effects on the Performance of Proposed
Parameters ETM/CsPbI3 CZTSSe/HTM
double absorber device structures.
Double absorber configuration Jsc (mA cm− 2) Voc (V) FF (%) PCE
Defect Type Neutral Neutral
(%)
Ae (cm2) (Cross Section area of 1.0 × 10− 19
1.0 × 10− 19

electrons) FTO/STO/CsPbI3/CZTSSe/NiO/W 41.8154 1.021 87.50 37.35

Ah (cm2) (Cross Section area of holes) 1.0 × 10− 19 1.0 × 10− 19 FTO/PCBM/CsPbI3/CZTSSe/NiO/ 36.0730 1.015 87.39 32.01
Energetic Distribution Single Single W
Reference for defect energy level Et Above the highest Above the highest FTO/C60/CsPbI3/CZTSSe/NiO/W 41.5217 1.020 87.31 36.99
Ev Ev FTO/CdS/CsPbI3/CZTSSe/NiO/W 41.7997 1.025 79.92 34.27
Energy with respect to a reference (eV) 0.600 0.600
Total density (cm− 3) 1 × 1010 1 × 1010
efficiency in around 37.35 % due to its good band alignment, lengthy
carrier lifetime, and low positive conduction band offset values with the
Table 3 CsPbI3 absorber layer. Fig. 4 illustrates the J-V curve of Double absorber
The numerical parameters that were taken for each ETL Material. solar cells equipped with a variety of ETL layers.
Parameters STO (Singh PCBM (Abedini- C60 (Lakhdar CdS (
et al., 2020) Ahangarkola and Hima, Chowdhury
3.2. Impact of several HTLs depending on STO as ETL on Double absorber
et al., 2022) 2020) et al., 2020)
solar cell
W (µm) 0.07 0.2 0.05 0.045
Eg (eV) 3.2 2.0 1.7 2.4
x (eV) 4.00 3.90 3.9 4.5
Various potential HTL materials are explored here, with STO as the
Єr 8.7 3.90 4.2 10.0 ETL. An effective HTL materials should have the following characteris­
Nc (1/cm3) 1.7 × 1019 2.5 × 1021 8 × 1019 2.2 × 1018 tics: (1) higher carrier mobility for increasing the fill factor; (2) a
Nv (1/cm3) 2 × 1020 2.5 × 1021 8 × 1019 1.9 × 1019 broader optical energy band gap and higher transparency to alleviate
Vte (cms− 1) 1 × 107 1 × 107 1 × 107 1 × 107
optical loss; (3) higher resistance to water, light, and heat; (4) minimal
Vtp 1 × 107 1 × 107 1 × 107 1 × 107
(cms− 1) cost of material and production; (5) friendliness for environmental
µn (cm2/ 5.3 × 103 2 × 10− 2
8 × 10− 2
3.5 × 102 (Omarova et al., 2022). Since the HTL layer plays a vital role in
Vs)
µp(cm2/Vs) 6.6 × 102 2 × 10− 2 3.5 × 10− 3 2.5 × 101
ND (cm− 3) 2 × 1016 1 × 1019 2.6 × 1018 1 × 1018
NA (cm− 3) 0 0 0 0
Nt (cm− 3) 1 × 1015 1 × 1015 1 × 1014 1 × 1014

Fig. 3. Band Alignment of Top Absorber with a Variety of Electron Trans­

fer Layers.

Fig. 4. The J-V curve of a double absorber solar cell with a variety of
ETL materials.

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S.H. Cheragee and M.J. Alam Results in Optics 15 (2024) 100647

permitting effective hole extraction from the absorber materials towards Table 6
the back contact, optimizing its structure can significantly boost effi­ Performance Evaluation of the proposed Double absorber Structure Using
ciency. It is investigated how using different HTL materials, such as NiO, distinct HTL.
CuSCN, spiro-OMeTAD, and Cu2Te, impacts device performance. Their Double absorber Structure Voc Jsc (mA/ FF PCE
collected simulation parameters from the literature are shown in (V) cm2) (%) (%)
Table 5. When contrasting the effectiveness of various HTLs on Double FTO/STO/CsPbI3/CZTSSe/NiO/W 1.021 41.81543 87.50 37.35
absorber structures, the authors’ finding revealed that the NiO-based FTO/STO/CsPbI3/CZTSSe/Cu2Te/W 0.890 41.760 86.91 32.31
configuration has the maximum efficiency of all the others and ob­ FTO/STO/CsPbI3/CZTSSe/Spiro- 1.016 41.81198 86.10 36.57
OMeTAD/W
tained a rating of 37.35 % for its efficiency. This is due to the structure’s
FTO/STO/CsPbI3/CZTSSe/CuSCN/W 1.021 41.81542 87.49 37.34
higher carrier mobility and its lengthy carrier lifetime, as shown in
Table 6. Fig. 5 depicts a current–voltage graph for a Double absorber
solar cell that is comprised of a variety of different HTL materials. 3.4. The impact of bulk defect concentration on the functional
performance of a proposed double absorber solar cell

3.3. Impact of absorber thickness on Double absorber solar cells The defect is crucial to the device’s effectiveness. When more defects
per unit area are in the absorber layer, more pin holes are created, the
The effectiveness of a photovoltaic cell relies heavily on the absorber film degrades more quickly, and the device’s stability and performance
material and the variations in its thickness. Therefore, generated charge suffer (Jamal et al., 2019). Defects are classified as deep, or shallow
carriers’ diffusion lengths must be larger than the solar cell thickness for based on their depth and location. Shallow defects have a defect density
efficient harvesting. It is best if the photo-generated holes and electrons of around 1 × 1010–1 × 1013 cm3, whereas deep defects have a defect
are balanced by known absorption and recombination (Zhao et al., concentration of about 1 × 1014 cm3 and go up to about 1 × 1016 cm3 in
2018). Here, absorber layer thickness facilitated charge carrier transport size (Adinolfi et al., 2016). The presence of deep defects characterizes
to ETLs and HTLs. Therefore, raising the thickness results in more the central band gap. The absorber layer is well-known to be the primary
photon light absorption and enhanced performance of the device site of photoelectron production and the location of recombination
(Chakraborty et al., 2019). However, increasing thickness values also centres, i.e., Shockley-Read Hall (SRH), because of bulk defects with
enhanced the concentration of the produced charge carrier along the energy levels deeper in the band gaps. When the absorber material
interfaces ETL/CsPbI3 and CZTSSe/HTL, leading to improvements in defect concentration is equivalent to or more than the doping concen­
recombination rate and, in turn, a decrease in photovoltaic performance trations of the absorber material, the device will become semi-
such as PCE (%) and Voc (V) (Mehrabian et al., 2021). Here, the bottom insulating, and it will be impossible to produce an appropriate p-n
absorber materials thickness was changed from 0.5 µm to 2 µm, while all junction. As a result, the device fails to be operating correctly, and its
other layer thicknesses were held fixed to investigate the influence on overall performance degrades. To explore defect densities impact in
the effectiveness of Double absorber solar cells. The relationship be­ each layer, the SRH model was utilized, which is expressed in Eqns. (8)
tween absorber thickness with Voc and Jsc is shown in Fig. 6(a). It is and (9).
observed in Fig. 6(a) that the Voc was 1.06 V and the Jsc was 38.7 mA/
np − n2i
cm2 when the thickness was 0.5 µm; on the other hand, whenever the RSRH = (8)
τp (n + ni ) + τn (p + pi )
thickness was raised to 2.0 µm, the Voc dropped to 1.02 V, and the Jsc
increased to 42.20 mA/cm2, and this improvement because of this
1
strong absorption coefficient. The device’s JSC raises as the absorber τn,p = (9)
σ vth,n,p Nt
thickness grows. This is because greater light and carriers are absorbed.
This, in turn, causes a sharp decline in the VOC. Fig. 6(b) depicts the FF Here The impact of varying the trap concentration of the bottom
and PCE curve for various absorber thicknesses, showing that the FF absorber layer, CZTSSe, is explored from 1 × 1010 to 1 × 1019 while
rises with increasing thickness up to around 1.4 µm, after which it de­ holding the trap concentration of the other absorber layers kept constant
clines due to rises in resistance. Fig. 6(b) also demonstrates that PCE is at 1 × 1014 because, after the simulation, it is found that top absorber
shown to grow before reaching a maximum at a thickness of 1.4 µm, defect has a less significant effect on device performance. In Fig. 7, the
after which it declines significantly. The optimal thickness of a bottom impact of the cell’s Jsc, Voc, PCE, and FF with respect to bulk defect is
absorber, where efficiency improves, has been proposed to be 1.4 µm. seen. At the time of altering the trap density in CZTSSe, the Jsc and Voc of
a Double absorber device decline due to greater SRH recombination and
Table 5 a lower carrier lifetime as trap density rises. In Fig. 7(a), it is shown that
Numerical parameters for each type of HTL material are as follows: Jsc and Voc of the cell fall from 41.8 mA/cm2 to 3.81 mA/cm2 and 1.24 V
Parameters NiO (Abedini- Spiro- Cu2Te ( CuSCN (Hima
to 0.67 V accordingly, as the defect concentration of CZTSSe increases,
Ahangarkola OMeTAD Suman and and Lakhdar, whereas PCE and FF decline from 43.3 % to 1.29 % and 83.3 % to 51.2 %
et al., 2022) (Pindolia Kumar, 2021) 2020) correspondingly shown in Fig. 7(b). Nonetheless, FF has been on the rise
et al., 2022) once more once the defect concentration reached 1E18. To get the best
W (µm) 0.350 0.200 0.08 0.05 results, we settle on a bulk defect concentration of 1 × 1012 cm− 3,
Eg (eV) 3.6 2.88 1.18 3.4 corresponding to an optimal Jsc of 41.82 mA/cm2, Voc of 1.0207 V, PCE
x (eV) 1.8 2.05 4.2 1.9 of 37.35.%, and FF of 87.50 %.
Єr 11.75 3.0 10.0 9.0
Nc (1/cm3) 2.5 × 1020 2.5 × 1020 7.8 × 1017 2.2 × 1018
Nv (1/cm3) 2.5 × 1020 2.5 × 1020 1.6 × 1019 1.9 × 1019
Vte (cm/s) 1 × 107 1 × 107 1 × 107 1 × 107 3.5. Double absorber solar cell performance under different temperature
Vtp (cm/s) 1 × 107 1 × 107 1 × 107 1 × 107 conditions
µn (cm2/ 2 × 10− 1 2.1 × 10− 3 5 × 102 2 × 10− 4
Vs)
µp (cm2/ 2 × 10− 1
2.6 × 10− 3
1 × 102 1 × 10− 3 Working (i.e., operational) temperature significantly influences de­
Vs) vice performance, which changes with environmental situations. Most
ND (1/cm3) 0 0 0 0 of the simulations here employed an operating temperature (ambient
NA (1/cm3) 5 × 1018 1 × 1018 1 × 1021 1 × 1018 temperature) of 300 K. Moreover, if the solar panels are mounted
Nt (1/cm3) 1 × 1015 1 × 1015 1 × 1015 1 × 1015
outside, the sun’s rays will heat them, causing an increase in the working

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S.H. Cheragee and M.J. Alam Results in Optics 15 (2024) 100647

Fig. 5. Current-voltage curve of double absorber solar cells developed with a variety of HTL materials.

Fig. 6. Influence of Bottom Absorber thickness on (a) current–voltage curve, (b) Fill Factor, and PCE.

temperature. Because of this, the photovoltaic cells often operate at ( )

nkT Jsc
temperatures greater than 300 K. The change in operating temperature V0C = log +1 (10)
q J0
was done between 260 K and 420 K. At the same time, the illumination
level is held constant at 1000 W/m2 for investigating the impact of that
Where J0 = reverse saturation current, JSC = current density,
working temperature on cell performance. Fig. 8(a) and (b), plotting
VOC = open circuit voltage, K = Boltzmann constant, q = electronic
several device output characteristics against temperature, demonstrate
charge, T = temperature, and n = ideality factor. Fig. 8(b) demonstrates
that increasing the working temperature consistently reduces cell per­
that when the working temperature of the cell is raised, both the PCE
formance. As seen in Fig. 8 (a), As temperature rises, there is a consid­
and FF values will drop. This decline can be attributable to an increase in
erable decline in Voc, which goes from 1.04 V to 0.94 V. However, when
SRH recombination, poorer mobility, the enhanced series resistance of
the temperature of the material is elevated, the materials band gap will
the cell at high temperatures, as well as a shorter carrier diffusion length
narrow. This will result in a greater number of electron-hole pairs being
(Coulibaly et al., 2019). Additionally, there is a linear correlation be­
created, increasing the value of JSC. In reality, reverse saturation current
tween the operating temperature and device efficiency, so lower tem­
density (J0) rises with rising temperature, which corresponds to a
peratures result in greater device efficiency.
decline in Voc according to equation (10) (Alam and Ashraf, 2020).

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S.H. Cheragee and M.J. Alam Results in Optics 15 (2024) 100647

Fig. 7. Influence of Bottom Absorber Layer Bulk Defect on (a) J-V Curve (b) Fill Factor and PCE.

Fig. 8. Impact of working Temperature on the proposed device: (a) Jsc and Voc (b) PCE and FF.

3.6. Impact of diverse back contact materials on the effectiveness of

double absorber solar cells

The back contact work function is essential for achieving an

acceptable built-in voltage (Vbi) in photovoltaic cells (Raoui et al.,
2019). The work function of various materials creates variable series
resistance with its cell structure, which affects the cell’s performance.
Numerous materials with varying work functions, including carbon
(5.0 eV), gold (5.1 eV), tungsten (5.2 eV), Palladium (5.3 eV), nickel
(5.5 eV), platinum (5.65 eV), and selenium (5.9 eV), are investigated to
figure out the influence of work function of the metal electrode on
photovoltaic characteristics (Tariq Jan and Noman, 2022; Omarova
et al., 2022; Deepthi Jayan and Sebastian, 2021; Raoui et al., 2019).
Energy band graphs for various back contacts with the absorber are
presented in Fig. 9. The outcomes of simulation with respect to change in Fig. 9. Band Alignment of the CZTSSe absorber with a variety of back con­
anode material are represented in Fig. 10. Whenever the work function tact materials.
is raised from 5 eV to 5.22 eV, the results reveal that the Jsc, FF, and PCE
all rise by a significant amount. This happens because the Schottky is inexpensive and has a desirable work function, we choose this mate­
barrier between the HTM and the back contact is lowered, making it rial in our simulation model as back contact. The results of a comparison
simple for holes to go from the HTM to the back contact. The maximum between the PV performance of the present study and those of other
efficiency of a cell is reached at 5.22 eV. Therefore, it is recommended previously published studies are listed in Table 7.
that the anode electrode be made of base metal with a greater than
5.22 eV, such as W, Pd, Ni, Pt, or Se. Since tungsten (as seen in Fig. 1(a))

7
S.H. Cheragee and M.J. Alam Results in Optics 15 (2024) 100647

Fig. 10. Influence of Back contact Materials on the device: (a) Voc and Jsc (b) FF and PCE.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Table 7
Comparison of PV parameters of present work with other Double absorber
Sheikh Hasib Cheragee: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal
structures from the published literature.
analysis, Methodology, Writing – original draft, Writing – review &
Double absorber Jsc (mA/ Voc (V) FF PCE Reference editing. Mohammad Jahangir Alam: Investigation, Supervision,
Structure cm2) (%) (%)
Writing – review & editing.
CZTSe/CZTS 25.83 0.98 69.87 17.81 (Enayati Maklavani
(Simulation) and
Mohammadnejad, Declaration of competing interest
2020)
CZTS/Silicon 27.55 0.84 88.54 19.40 (AlZoubi et al., The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
(Simulation) 2021) interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
MASnI3/MAPbI3 30.87 1.15 85.29 30.29 (Abedini-
(Simulation) Ahangarkola et al.,
the work reported in this paper.
2022)
NaZn0.7Cu0.3Br3/ 34.98 1.0054 87.78 30.87 (Cheragee and Data availability
MASnI3 Alam, 2022)
(Simulation)
Data will be made available on request.
NaZn0.7Cu0.3Br3/ 35.03 1.0054 87.79 30.92 (Cheragee et al.,
MASnI3 2022)
(Simulation) Acknowledgement
NaZn0.7Cu0.3Br3/ 34.71 1.1373 82.13 32.42 (Cheragee and
MASnI3 Alam, 2023) The authors of this publication would like to extend their gratitude to
(Simulation)
CsPbI3/CZTSSe 41.8154 1.0207 87.50 37.35 Present Work
Professor Marc Burgelman and his colleagues at the University of Gent
(Simulation) for supplying the SCAPS-1D software that was utilized for the research
described here. This program was essential in the completion of this
study.
4. Conclusion
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