Computational Study on the Effect of CdS Buffer Layer in an Environmentally Safe CuSCN based Perovskite Solar Cell

The Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator (SCAPS-1D) is used to conduct extensive research on the design of perovskite solar cells based on hybrid metal halide (CH3NH3SnI3), with the goal of increasing their energy conversion capability. The proposed device (ITO/SnO<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf>/CdS/CH<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</inf>NH<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</inf>SnI<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</inf>/CuSCN/Au) performance has been explored by optimizing the design variables like temperature (280K to 330K) and absorber layer thickness (750nm to 1300nm). Moreover, the impact of cadmium sulfide, ‘CdS’ as buffer layer is also studied. An analysis has been conducted in order to ascertain the best composition of the device's layers for optimal performance. These layers include the CH<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</inf>NH<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</inf>SnI<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</inf>as absorber/active layer, copper (I) thiocyanate (CuSCN) as hole transport layer (HTL), tin dioxide (SnO<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf>) for electron transport (ETL), and CdS for active buffering. At optimized temperature of 280K and thickness of 950nm, the open circuit voltage is 1.05V, fill factor is 87.44%, short circuit current density is 33.89mA/cm<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> and efficiency is 31.06%.