Ideal HTLs May Open the Door for Further Development of Sb2Se3 Solar Cells—A Numerical Approach

Abstract

Antimony selenide (Sb2Se3) material has been brought into sharp focus in the solar cell field due to its remarkable performance in recent times. Solar cell efficiency increases daily because of the excellent properties of Sb2Se3 material and progressive optimisation of each layer, especially the hole-transporting layer (HTL); it suppresses the recombination of the back surface and increases the built-in potential and efficiency. In this work, we used Sb2Se3 as an absorber layer and compared the behaviour of typical hole transport materials (HTMs) (Spiro-OMeTAD, CuSCN, and CuI) and their influence on device performance. The Sb2Se3 photovoltaic model with different HTMs was studied by SCAPS (version 3.3.10) software. Efficiency is highly influenced by light source and intensity. Thickness and defect density of the Sb2Se3 layer, the work function of the back contact, and series and shunt resistances also play an essential role in the better execution of solar cells. The performance of the device is enhanced when the transmission percentage increases at the front contact. The metalwork function must be 5 eV to attain a highly efficient PV cell, and after optimisation, CuI is the best HTM with a 23.48% efficiency.