Numerical modeling of Zn-doped Cu2O used as HTL for CsPbCl3 lead-based perovskite solar cell

Abstract

In recent years, inorganic perovskite solar cells have emerged as a promising and environment friendly technology for photovoltaics. In this study, an in-depth simulation was carried out using SCAPS-1D software to optimize inorganic perovskite solar cells, with particular emphasis on the use of CsPbCl3 as an absorber material. Various ETL layers such as C60, ZnSe, PCBM, SnO2, and WS2, and an inorganic HTL consisting of zinc-doped Cu2O (7%) were evaluated. The highest performance was achieved by using SnO2 as the ETL layer. This study focused on the impact of critical parameters such as the thickness and defect density of the absorber layer, donor doping density in this layer, series and shunt resistances, and operating temperatures on the overall cell performance. The optimum device configuration, FTO/SnO2/CsPbCl3/Cu2O:Zn(7%)/Au, demonstrated a PCE of 24.23%, FF of 88.45%, a VOC of 1.567 V, and a JSC of 17.48 mA/cm2. These results underline that the use of CsPbCl3 as an absorber material in perovskite solar cells leads to improved performance and notable thermal stability, highlighting the considerable potential of this material.