As a well-explored chalcopyrite material, copper gallium
sulfide
CGS has been considered a potential material for solar cell absorber
layers. However, its photovoltaic attributes still require to be improved.
In this research, a novel chalcopyrite material, copper gallium sulfide
telluride CGST, has been deposited and verified as a thin film absorber
layer to fabricate high-efficiency solar cells by experimental testing
and numerical simulations. The results display the intermediate band
formation in CGST with incorporation of Fe ions. Electrical studies
showed enhancement in mobility from 1.181 to 1.473 cm2 V–1 s–1 and conductivity from 2.182
to 5.952 S cm–1 for pure and 0.08 Fe-substituted
thin films. The I–V curves
display the photoresponse and ohmic nature of the deposited thin films,
and the maximum photoresponsivity (0.109 A W–1)
was observed for 0.08 Fe-substituted films. Theoretical simulation
of the prepared solar cells was carried out using SCAPS-1D software,
and the obtained efficiency displayed an increasing trend from 6.14
to 11.07% as the Fe concentration increased from 0.0 to 0.08. This
variation in efficiency is attributed to the decrease in bandgap (2.51–1.94
eV) and the formation of an intermediate band in CGST with Fe substitution,
which is evidenced in UV–vis spectroscopy. The above revealed
results open the way to 0.08 Fe-substituted CGST as a promising candidate
as a thin film absorber layer in solar photovoltaic technology.