Simulation of antimony chalcogenide thin film solar cell with high-efficiency

Abstract

Second generation solar cell (TFPV) have captured the attention of the majority of the research community in the energy sector due to dramatic enhancement in its efficiency. Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) and Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) have been extensively investigated as light absorbing layer for thin film solar cells since last few years. However, limitations such as low abundance and toxicity of these materials precluded them from being used further in thin film solar cell technology. In this research work, we utilized photovoltaic materials like Sb2Se3 and Sb2S3 to examine the solar cell efficiency by one dimensional solar simulator (SCAPS-1D). A structural device is modelled for optimizing absorber layer thickness, and thus the solar cell efficiency, using various non-toxic buffer layers like CdS, ZnO, In2S3, ZnS, and ZnSe with the thickness of 40 nm. The modelled structure with optimized thickness (2 μm&2.5 μm) resulted in higher efficiency (∼22 %) antimony chalcogenide thin film solar cells.