Investigating the Performance of Efficient and Stable Planer Perovskite Solar Cell with an Effective Inorganic Carrier Transport Layer Using SCAPS-1D Simulation

Abstract

Organic–inorganic metal halide perovskite (OIMHP) has emerged as a promising material for solar cell application due to their outstanding optoelectronics properties. The perovskite-based solar cell (PSC) demonstrates a significant enhancement in efficiency of more than 20%, with a certified efficiency rating of 23.13%. Considering both the Shockley limit and bandgap, there exists a substantial potential for further efficiency improvement. However, stability remains a significant obstacle in the commercialization of these devices. Compared to organic carrier transport layers (CTLs), inorganic material such as ZnO, TiO2, SnO2, and NiOX offer the advantage of being deposited using atomic layer deposition (ALD), which in turn improves the efficiency and stability of the device. In this study, methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3)-based cells with inorganic CTL layers of SnO2 and NiOX are simulated using SCAPS-1D software. The cell structure configuration comprises ITO/SnO2/CH3NH3PbI3/NiOX/Back contact where SnO2 and NiOX act as ETL and HTL, respectively, while ITO is a transparent front-end electrode. Detailed investigation is carried out into the influence of various factors, including MAPbI3 layer size, the thickness of CTLs, operating temperature parasitic resistance, light intensity, bulk defects, and interfacial defects on the performance parameters. We found that the defects in layers and interface junctions greatly influence the performance parameter of the cell, which is eliminated through an ALD deposition approach. The optimum size of the MAPbI3 layer and CTL was found to be 400 nm and 50 nm, respectively. At the optimized configuration, the PSC demonstrates an efficiency of 22.13%, short circuit current (JSC) of 20.93 mA/m2, open circuit voltage (VOC) of 1.32 V, and fill factor (FF) of 70.86%.