Design and numerical analysis of antimony trisulfide (Sb 2 S 3 ) solar cell using SCAPS-1D software

Abstract

Abstract Abstract This study numerically analyzes an Sb₂S₃ based solar cell with the structure FTO/ETL/Sb₂S₃/SpiroOMeTAD/Au using the SCAPS1D software under the AM1.5G spectrum.The impact of series resistance (Rs), defect density and the effective capture cross-section of charge carriers at the Sb₂S₃/CdS interface were first studied. Alternative electron transport layers (ETLs) including Cd1-xZnₓS, ZnO1-xSx, and TiO₂, were then investigated. The results indicate that optimal band alignment at the ETL/Sb2S3 interface is achieved for a sulfur content of 0.6 in ZnO1-xSx and a zinc contents of 0.5 in Cd1-xZnₓS. Under these conditions, power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of 16.53 % for Cd0.5Zn0.5S, 16.38 % for ZnO0.4S0.6, and 15.67 % for TiO2 were obtained. These improvements are attributed to a reduction in the recombination rate at the Sb₂S₃/ETL interface. Finally, introducing a second ZnO0.25S0.75 buffer layer further increased the corresponding efficiencies to 17.55 %, 17.50 %, and 17.00 % respectively, demonstrating enhanced device overall performance despite a slight decrease in optical transmission to the absorber.The results obtained in this work provide important insights into the optimization of Sb₂S₃ based solar cells.