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An additional absorber layer of Sb₂Se₃ has been used to maximize the photocurrent in this study, which further improves the overall efficiency of solar cells. The paper reports a numerical analysis of novel cadmium telluride (CdTe)/silicon (Si)-based efficient thin-film solar cell integrating antimony selenide (Sb₂Se${}_3)$ as an additional absorber layer. The simulation development of the proposed cell is carried out using the Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS-1D) tool and recorded 40.02% power conversion efficiency (PCE). The structure of the solar cell is made up of contacts from metals aluminum (Al) and nickel (Ni), a dual absorber layer from CdTe/Sb₂Se₃, cadmium sulfide (CdS) as buffer/window layer and Si as an active layer. The performance of glass/SnO₂ (10nm)/CdS (50nm)/CdTe (2.5$\mu$m)/Sb₂Se₃ (11.2$\mu$m)/Si (200$\mu$m)/Al device structure gives potential results as an open circuit voltage ($V_{\mathrm{\text{OC}}})$ of 1009mV, short circuit current density ($J_{\mathrm{\text{SC}}})$ of 44.88mA/cm², fill factor (FF) of 88.38 and PCE improvement up to 40.02%. The novelty of the presented thin-film solar cell has a Sb₂Se₃ layer working as an additional absorber, which directly addresses the Shockley–Queisser barrier limits of single junction solar cells. The main praise of the proposed structure introduces the Sb₂Se₃ layer which achieved the maximum conversion efficiency of 40.02% from 31.65%.

In this paper, the experimentally studied perovskite solar cell structure, ITO/SnO₂/(FAPbI₃)${}_{1-x}$ (MAPbBr${}_{3-y}$Cl_y)_x/Spiro-OMeTAD/Au, is considered as our primary cell structure. The Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator is used to investigate the cell performance. The cell performance is obtained after optimizing the influence of layer thickness (open circuit $\mathrm{\text{voltage}}=1.03$V, short circuit $\mathrm{\text{current}}=25.21$mA/cm², fill $\mathrm{\text{factor}}=65.49$%, power conversion $\mathrm{\text{efficiency}}=17.02$%). In addition, various inorganic hole transporting layers are incorporated in place of Spiro-OMeTAD to improve cell stability and performance. Finally, with an open circuit $\mathrm{\text{voltage}}=1.13$V, a short circuit $\mathrm{\text{current}}=27.64$mA/cm², a fill $\mathrm{\text{factor}}=62.15$%, and a power conversion efficiency = 19.55%, the optimized cell structure i.e., ITO/SnO₂/(FAPbI₃)${}_{1-x}$(MAPbBr${}_{3-y}$Cl_y)_x/CulnSe₂/Au, performs better. The cell performance is examined in relation to defect density in the absorber layer and at the layer interface. The primary cell results are also validated with the existing experimental results in the literature. This research will pave the way for the development of highly efficient mix-cation perovskite solar cells.

Kesterite Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) has recently attracted the intensive attention of researchers as a significant photovoltaic material for the scalable production of thin film solar cells. We have particularly focused on replacing the conventional CdS buffer layer with non-toxic and earth-abundant materials of zinc stannate (Zn₂SnO${}_4)$ in environmentally friendly thin-film solar cells based on CZTS. Zinc stannate (ZTO) with a wide bandgap energy of about 3.33eV can be a promising material to reduce photon absorption loss and improve the photovoltaic performance of the device. Thus, the absorber and buffer layers were practically prepared to determine the bandgaps of layers for citation in SCAPS-1D simulation program. We employed chemical methods to deposit the CdS and CZTS layers and succeeded to obtain a high-quality kesterite phase of CZTS. The common configuration of FTO/CZTS/buffer/ZnO/AZO was the basis of the simulations in which, the thicknesses of the absorber and buffer layers were optimized by using the SCAPS-1D. According to the outcome of the simulations, the ZTO buffer layer has a better performance than CdS.

This study focuses on the investigation of HIT solar cell using nanocrystalline hydrogenated cubic silicon carbide (nc-3C-SiC:H) as a window layer. The selection of nc-3C-SiC:H is motivated by its wide bandgap, high electron drift velocity, and exceptional optical, electrical, and structural properties. Employing SCAPS-1D simulator, a comprehensive simulation analysis of thin nc-3C-SiC:H-based solar cell was conducted. By analyzing the current–voltage and quantum efficiency curves, the impact of doping concentration in the window layer was examined, covering a range from $1\times 10^{15}{\mathrm{\text{cm}}}^{-3}$ to $1\times 10^{18}{\mathrm{\text{cm}}}^{-3}$. A rapid degradation of $V_{\text{oc}}$ was observed for high doping concentrations. Additionally, the temperature dependence of external DC parameters for the temperatures 273, 300, and 318K was explored under AM1.5G and AM1.5D sunlight spectra. The application of two distinct light spectra resulted in the DC parameters exhibiting minimal variation or similarity. The study also took into account the influence of window thickness variation, temperature, and doping concentration. The findings demonstrate a remarkable influence of temperature and doping concentration on the DC parameters. $J_{\text{sc}}$ value of 30.29mA/cm² was achieved with a 3-nm thickness and an optimal efficiency of 19.48% was registered with a doping concentration of up to $8\times 10^{17}{\mathrm{\text{cm}}}^{-3}$, showcasing the promising potential of nc-3C-SiC:H.

This work deals with the simulation of a perovskite solar cell with structure, ITO/SnO₂/MAPbI${}_{3-x}$Cl_x/Spiro-MeOTAD/Ag using SCAPS-1D software. The optimization of absorber thickness and carriers’ lifetime results in $\mathrm{\text{PCE}}=19.70$% ($V_{\text{oc}}=1.14$V, $J_{\text{sc}}=24.31$mA/cm² and $\mathrm{\text{FF}}=70.88$%). The same structures are also analyzed without ETL and HTL for making cost-effective solar cell. The efficiencies for both ETL and HTL free structures are found to be 17.42% and 9.98%, respectively. Further, the optimization of gradient doping shows a significant increment in performance parameters i.e. $\mathrm{\text{PCE}}=24.42$% ($V_{\text{oc}}=1.19$V, $J_{\text{sc}}=23.98$mA/cm² and $\mathrm{\text{FF}}=84.84$%). Moreover, the analysis of various factors like average doping concentration, number of absorber sublayers, recombination velocities and temperature on the cell performance are performed to examine device stability. Present observations suggest that by considering only two sublayers, one can achieve the highest cell performance by using the gradient doping method. We have also validated the cell performance by comparing it with the experimental results and found a good agreement in both. Our findings may provide an effective route to fabricate highly efficient solar cell devices.