Near-optimal Absorber-thickness Window and Temperature Dependence of Lead-free SnO2/MASnI3/Cu2O Perovskite Solar Cells: A SCAPS-1D Reanalysis

Abstract

Lead-free tin-halide perovskites are of interest for photovoltaic applications, although simulation-based optimisation can obscure the range of absorber thicknesses that yield comparable performance. This study reanalysed an archived SCAPS-1D dataset for an ITO/SnO₂/MASnI₃/Cu₂O/Al solar cell to identify the near-optimal absorber-thickness window and describe the relative efficiency response to operating temperature. The absorber-thickness scan covered 200–2000 nm at 300 K, while the temperature scan assessed the 1200 nm configuration between 290 and 450 K. Power conversion efficiency (PCE) values were normalised to the maximum thickness-scan value or to the corresponding 300 K value. The simulated short-circuit current density increased from 24.832 to 35.325 mA cm⁻² as absorber thickness increased, whereas open-circuit voltage decreased from 1.186 to approximately 1.101 V. PCE reached approximately 30.00% at 1200 nm, but an 800 nm absorber achieved 29.76%, equivalent to 99.2% of the maximum with 33.3% less thickness. Every investigated thickness between 800 and 2000 nm retained approximately 99% or more of the maximum PCE. At 450 K, the 1200 nm device retained approximately 88.2% of its 300 K PCE, predominantly reflecting reduced open-circuit voltage. Because the original input files and several boundary conditions could not be recovered, these findings describe relative behaviour within the archived numerical model rather than experimentally validated device performance.