Simulation of CZTSSe Thin-Film Solar Cells in COMSOL: Three-Dimensional Optical, Electrical, and Thermal Models

Zandi, Soma; Saxena, Prateek; Razaghi, Mohammad; Gorji, Nima E.

doi:10.1109/jphotov.2020.2999881

Cited by 71 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…They exhibit interesting photoelectric characteristics relatively close to those of the CIGS reference material [7,8]. Modeling analysis are also reported in view to gain insight into the thermal stability [9]. Among them, copper manganese tin sulfide Cu 2 MnSnS 4 (CMTS) is one of the most promising.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Growth and Characterization of Cu2MnSnS4 Thin Films Synthesized by Spray Pyrolysis under Air Atmosphere

et al. 2020

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The direct synthesis of chalcopyrite Cu2MnSnS4 (CMTS) thin films by a spray pyrolysis technique on glass substrates under oxidative conditions (ambient atmosphere and using compressed air as a carrier gas instead of nitrogen) was studied. The effect of the deposition temperature on the structural, chemical composition, and optical and electrical properties of thin films has been assessed. X-ray diffraction study reveals that the tetragonal stannite structure crystallizes with a [112] preferential orientation from 280 up to 360 °C, with its crystallinity correlated with the substrate temperature. However, in addition to its crystallization, traces of secondary phases are observed: a mixture of SnO and CuO at 360 °C prevails on the formation of CuS at 320 °C. Above 360 °C, the oxidant conditions combined with the loss in sulfur lead to the crystallization of only the tenorite CuO. The crystallization of sulfides by spray pyrolysis under air is possible only at relatively low deposition temperature for which the oxidation rate is inefficient compared to the sulfidation rate. Further optical studies of stannite films indicate a high absorption coefficient toward the visible range (>104 cm−1) and an optical band gap of about 1.64–1.85 eV, also depending on the substrate temperature. The CMTS thin films deposited below 360 °C exhibit a moderate electrical resistivity of about Ω·cm at room temperature. The properties of the stannite films synthesized using a spray pyrolysis technique in ambient air are comparable to those of films obtained by spray pyrolysis with nitrogen carrier gas despite the presence of oxides traces, an increase in the deposition temperature improving the microstructure, and its related optical and electrical properties.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Growth and Characterization of Cu2MnSnS4 Thin Films Synthesized by Spray Pyrolysis under Air Atmosphere

et al. 2020

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“…The J sc changed slightly as the FSF doping density varied from 10 18 cm −3 to 10 19 cm −3 ; the total change (reduction) in J sc among the samples with a doped front surface layer J sc was reduced by 1.25 mA/cm 2 at an FSF doping concentration of 10 20 cm −3 and J sc was minimized in cells having no front surface doping layer. It is noteworthy that J sc was determined by the collection probability [27], which can be derived with the following Equation (8) [28]:…”

Section: Simulation Results and Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Carrier Transmission Mechanism-Based Analysis of Front Surface Field Effects on Simplified Industrially Feasible Interdigitated Back Contact Solar Cells

Liu

2020

Energies

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Interdigitated back contact (IBC) n-type silicon solar cells with a different front surface layer doping concentration were fabricated and studied and the influence of the front surface doping level was analyzed via simulation (PC1D). The IBC cells were processed by industrially feasible technologies including laser ablation and screen printing; photolithography was not used. A maximum efficiency of up to 20.88% was achieved at an optimal front surface field (FSF) peak doping concentration of 4.8 × 1019 cm−3 with a sheet resistance of approximately 95 Ω/square, corresponding to Jsc = 40.05 mA/cm2, Voc = 671 mV and a fill factor of 77.70%. The effects of the front surface doping level were studied in detail by analyzing parameters related to carrier transmission mechanisms such as minority carrier concentration, minority carrier lifetime and the saturation current density of the FSF (J0e). The influence of the front surface recombination velocity (FSRV) on the performance of IBC solar cells with different FSF layer doping concentrations was also investigated and was verified by examining the variation in the minority carrier density as a function of the distance from the front surface. In particular, the impact of the FSF doping concentration on the Jsc of the IBC cells was clarified by considering carrier transmission mechanisms and the charge-collection probability. The trends revealed in the simulations agreed with the corresponding experimental data obtained from the fabricated IBC solar cells. This study not only verifies that the presented simulation is a reasonable and reliable guide for choosing the optimal front surface doping concentration in industrial IBC solar cells but also provides a deeper physical understanding of the impact that front surface layer doping has on the IBC solar cell performance considering carrier transmission mechanisms and the charge-collection probability.

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“…We adapted the structure of CZTSSe solar cell that was developed by IBM with a record efficiency report of 12.6% [8]. Recently, we presented a 3D FEM and coupled simulation study on the same thin film CZTSSe kesterite structure (Mo/Mo(S,Se) 2 /CZTSSe/CdS/ZnO/ITO/air) for the optical generation, electric field distribution, recombination rate, current-voltage characteristics, thermal and heat distribution maps [7]. The same structure ( Fig.…”

Section: Structure Mesh and Simulation Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The materials properties, optical, electrical, and thermal constants are added from the respective references [9,10,11] as presented in Table 1 of our recent publication in Ref. [7]. Besides the mentioned parameters, Auger and direct recombination parameters have also been included in the simulations as the other recombination heating mechanisms, while SRH recombination is the dominant recombination process in the structure and has a significant heat generation rate.…”

Section: Structure Mesh and Simulation Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Through coupled optical-electrical-thermal (OET) simulations, Shang and Li have calculated the impact of five heating generation factors on the current-voltage and power-voltage of GaAs solar cells and showed that the Thermalization and Joule heat (158 W/m 2 and 121 W/m 2 ) are the main heating components compared to surface recombination heat, Peltier heat and non-radiative recombination (Shockley-Read-Hall, SRH and Auger recombination) heat (10-30 W/m 2 ) [6]. In our previous studies, we have presented our coupled simulation analysis of heat distribution across a CZTSSe solar cell contacted with an rGO electrode [7]. The individual impact of these heating factors was not considered separately but only the total heat generated in the cell was investigated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Simulation of Heat Loss in CZTSSe Thin Film Solar Cells: A Coupled Optical-Electrical-Thermal Modeling

Zandi

Seresht

Gorji

2021

Preprint

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A coupled optical-electrical-thermal modeling has been developed to investigate the heat generation in CZTSSe solar cells via Thermalization, Joule heat, Peltier heat, Surface Recombination heat, and non-radiative recombination heat and also the heat dissipation via convective and radiative cooling. These were calculated and displayed in 2D and 3D maps either at zero bias or open-circuit voltage (V oc) conditions. At V=0, the heat is generated mainly at the junction of CZTSSe/CdS where the thermalization and Joule heats are dominantly higher compared to non-radiative (SRH and Auger) recombination heat. However, at V=V oc , the nan-radiative recombination heat becomes comparatively higher than the Joule heating whereas the thermalization remains highest as before. Apart from the bulk heating factors, we also studied the surface recombination and Peltier heat generation. The surface recombination heat is higher at V=V oc compared to at V=0 while the Peltier heat is zero at V=V oc which can be explained by looking at the energy band diagrams at these voltages. The total heat generation does not change much across the cell thickness (<5×10 9 W/m 3) as the cell is quite thin. Nevertheless, the individual impact of every heat generation factor on power-density and current-voltage characteristics of the cell reveals that the thermalization, Joule, and non-radiative recombination heats reduce the open-circuit voltage of the cell from 0.54 V to 0.49 V (∆V = 0.047 V) while the Peltier and surface recombination heat is less effective. The temperature of the cell shows a small distribution across the cell (0.01 K). However, the temperature of the initial study at 293 K increases to 315-320 K for the coupled study. At this increased temperature, the short current-density doesn’t change but the fill factor decreases from 73.8% to 71.8% and, therefore, the energy conversion efficiency of the cell falls by 11.11% (from initial 12.78% to 11.36%). All the total heat dissipation, convective, and radiation cooling follow a similar trend to the total heat generation but convective cooling is the dominant component of dissipation.

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Simulation of CZTSSe Thin-Film Solar Cells in COMSOL: Three-Dimensional Optical, Electrical, and Thermal Models

Cited by 71 publications

References 21 publications

Growth and Characterization of Cu2MnSnS4 Thin Films Synthesized by Spray Pyrolysis under Air Atmosphere

Growth and Characterization of Cu2MnSnS4 Thin Films Synthesized by Spray Pyrolysis under Air Atmosphere

Carrier Transmission Mechanism-Based Analysis of Front Surface Field Effects on Simplified Industrially Feasible Interdigitated Back Contact Solar Cells

Simulation of Heat Loss in CZTSSe Thin Film Solar Cells: A Coupled Optical-Electrical-Thermal Modeling

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