Computational simulation of metal doped lead-free double perovskite (Cs2AgBi0.75Sb0.25Br6) solar cell using solar cell capacitance simulator

Abstract

The dramatic improvement in the efficiency of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) over the past few decades of its existence made it very interesting to the photovoltaic research fraternity. Organic-inorganic perovskites based device achieved a certified power conversion efficiency of more than 24% in the recent past and are ideal for converting into compact photovoltaic solar cells fabricated on plastic substrates. The massive issue, however, is stability under different environmental circumstances and toxicity problems. In this paper, simulation-based studies are performed on lead-free double perovskite-based devices. The perovskite structure discussed here uses the broad bandgap double perovskite Cs 2 AgBi 0.75 Sb 0.25 Br 6 (1.8 eV). In this article, an unique solar cell configuration using tin oxide (SnO 2 ) as an electron transport layer (ETL), Cu 2 O as a hole transport layer, and metal-doped double perovskite as the main absorber layer is proposed and simulated. Through analytical study and process simulation, we studied the effects of variation in the thickness of different layers on the overall performance of the solar cell. The power conversion efficiency (PCE) for this proposed device configuration is found to be 21.2% at an optimized thickness of different layers. The solar cell capacitance simulator (SCAPS) quantitatively analyses the impact of defects in the absorber layer. The findings demonstrate that defects in the absorber layer strongly influenced the overall device performance. The effect of temperature on device performance is also investigated. In the 10 °C to 50 °C temperature range, the PSC shows better overall device performance and degrades steadily at a higher temperature. The findings reveal that the lead-free double perovskite has the potential to overcome the stability and toxicity issues of commonly used CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 based PSCs.