Influence of dopants in the buffer layer on CZTS solar cell performance

Abstract

Copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS) has commanded the next generation of solar cell materials because of its superior performance, lower cost and abundant availability on earth. This study examined the impact of different dopants in the buffer layer on the electrical characteristics of solar cells. For the n-indium tin oxide/cadmium sulfide (CdS) (silver (Ag)–cadmium sulfide, copper (Cu)–cadmium sulfide and chlorine (Cl)–cadmium sulfide)/CZTS/molybdenum (Mo) proposed device structure of a solar cell, the doping concentration and thickness of the buffer and absorber layers were examined. The silver–cadmium sulfide buffer layer was shown to be one of the best options for manufacturing a buffer layer for a CZTS-based solar cell in this study. The doping concentration and thickness of the solar cell were optimized in this work. This work obtained a higher than 21% efficiency when using silver–cadmium sulfide as a dopant in the cadmium sulfide buffer layer. Numerical modeling of the proposed structure revealed a unique method for improving the efficiency of a CZTS solar cell. The findings of this study are expected to be utilized in the interest of the many researchers working in this field.