Numerical Analysis of the Absorber Layer of Perovskite Solar Cells based on Cu2O as Hole Transporting Material

Abstract

The numerical analysis was performed on lead-based perovskite solar cells (PSCs) to enhance the cell’s performance, minimize toxicity, and improve cell stability. The solar cell capacitance simulator (SCAPS-1D) was used to investigate the effect of the thickness, bandgap, temperature, and interface defect density of the PSC. The SCAPS-1D consists of several layers; during the simulation, the Cu2O was used as the hole transport layer (HTL), the TiO2 was utilized as the electron transport layer (ETL), and the methylammonium lead triiodide (MAPbI3) was used as the absorber layer. A fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) was deployed to perform the function of a front contact and transparent conductive oxide. The platinium serves as the back metal contact and a means to minimize toxicity in the lead. The variation in the thickness of the absorber layer recorded the highest PCE of 28.46% as the thickness increases to 1.0  but decrease at further increases in thickness. The device performance at lower interface defect density was higher and decreased as the defect density increased. The behaviour of the bandgap was also examined in the (ETL) and the results show a decrease in the PCE with increasing bandgap but on the contrary that of (HTL) increase in the PCE with increase in the bandgap. The PCE in the absorber layer also increases as the bandgap increases. The device's best operation temperature was between 280k and 340k.