Simulation and optimization of a highly efficient ZnO/Cu2O/CdS/CdTe solar cell using SCAPS-1D

Abstract

A CdTe-based thin-film solar cell has been designed and analyzed using SCAPS-1D simulator. The proposed solar cell consists of a transparent conductive oxide (ZnO), an n-doped Cu2O, n-type cadmium sulphide (CdS), and p-type cadmium telluride (CdTe) layer. To achieve the maximum possible power conversion efficiency (PCE), the layer thickness, doping profile, and defect density of the absorber layer have been optimized. A back surface field (BSF) layer (p++ CdTe) is also incorporated to reduce the carrier recombination at the back electrode. The optimized cell has an open circuit voltage of 0.8858V, a short circuit current of 61.2699 mA/cm2, a fill factor of 69.75%, and a PCE of 37.86% considering AM 1.5 illuminations.