A Comprehensive Approach Toward Achieving High-Efficiency CTGSSe-Based Solar Cells

This work presents a comprehensive exploration of Cu<sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub>(Sn,Ge)(S,Se)<sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> (CTGSSe) thin-film solar cells, encompassing deposition techniques, material characterization, device simulations, and performance evaluations. Initial investigations focus on the deposition of CTGSSe thin films over soda-lime glass (SLG) substrates utilizing a dual-ion beam sputtering (DIBS) system. The deposited films exhibit desirable optical properties with a bandgap (<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${E} _{\text {g}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) of ~1.48 eV, high absorption coefficient (<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\alpha $ </tex-math></inline-formula>) of the order of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$10^{{5}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> cm<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{-{1}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, and high hole mobility of 54.12 cm<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{{2}}\cdot \text {V}^{-{1}}\cdot \text {s}^{-{1}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> along with stable p-type character- istics as confirmed by hall measurements, laying the foundation for subsequent device analysis. The experi- mental parameters and the absorption profile thus obtai- ned are incorporated into the proposed Al/Ga:ZnO/ CdS/CTGSSe/Mo device simulations using the solar cell capacitance simulator (SCAPS) tool to assess the performance parameters of CTGSSe solar cells. Additionally, the device modeling results demonstrate a <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V} _{\text {oc}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> of 0.466 V, <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${J} _{\text {sc}}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> as 27.845 mA/cm<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup>, FF =59.21%, and promising power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 7.68% under standard AM 1.5 G solar spectrum conditions, which can be further improved to 10.06% by substituting toxic CdS with nontoxic, abundant, and sustainable SnS<sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> as the buffer layer.