Computational analysis of Germanene solar cells: Impact of temperature, light intensity, and layer configurations on efficiency

Abstract

This study used germanene (the two-dimensional (2D) structures of germanium) at 300–350 K (${27}^{°}C$ - ${77}^{°}C$) temperature and in 0.1–128 sun light intensity as the semiconductor layer and the front contact to analyze the germanene impact on the proposed heterojunction structures. The germanene layers with In, Al, and P impurities were employed as the semiconductor in the first six cells with ITO/(p-Germanene 1, 2 / n-Germanene)/ ${\mathrm{MoS}}_2$ (n) (Monolayer ${\mathrm{MoS}}_2$ (n))/a-Si: H (i)/c-Si structures. The germanene front contact was then used in the last two cells with the Germanene/${\mathrm{MoS}}_2$ (n) (Monolayer ${\mathrm{MoS}}_2$ (n))/a-Si: H (i)/c-Si (P)/Au structures. The maximum efficiency (20.05 %) was achieved at 300 K temperature and 1 sunlight intensity in the presence of n-Germanene and MoS2 as the germanene bottom layer. Utilizing the same semiconductor as the bottom layer for the front contact germanene delivered an efficiency of 29.22 %. The replacement of MoS2 by Monolayer ${\mathrm{MoS}}_2$ decreased the efficiency. The efficiencies in the presence of semiconductor germanene (n-Germanene) and as the front contact were 12.55 % and 22.82 %, respectively, at their maximums. The heterojunction cell performed much more satisfactorily in all temperatures and light intensities in the presence of ${\mathrm{MoS}}_2$. However, due to the novelty of this study and the absence of experimental data, the output data of the simulation process, provided for the first time by this study in the presence of this 2D structure and also accurate evaluation of the environmental and structural conditions describe a promising prospect for germanene application in the solar energy industry.