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Impact of CdTe BSF layer on enhancing the efficiency of MoSe2 solar cell

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Abstract

Molybdenum Diselenide (MoSe2)-based solar cells have gained significant interest among researchers due to their exceptional semiconducting properties. However, the performance is bottle-necked by band structure mismatches in the back surface field (BSF)/MoSe2 and MoSe2/buffer interfaces. This study aims to enhance the performance of a novel Cu/FTO/CdS/MoSe2/CdTe/Au solar cell and explore the effects of the Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) BSF and CdS buffer layer on key performance parameters such as open-circuit voltage (Voc), short-circuit current density (Jsc), fill factor (FF), and power conversion efficiency (PCE). Utilizing SCAPS simulation software, we conducted a comprehensive analysis considering variations in layer thickness, carrier concentration, bulk defect concentration, interface defects, operating temperature, and electrode configuration. Our findings reveal that the device shows good performance at lower carrier concentrations (1 × 1016 cm−3) with a thin (2 μm) MoSe2 absorber layer. For the Cu/FTO/CdS/MoSe2/Au reference cell, we estimated a PCE of 21.19%, Voc of 0.605 V, Jsc of 42.82 mA/cm2, and FF of 81.67%. In contrast, by introducing CdTe between the MoSe2 absorber and the rear Au electrode in the Cu/FTO/CdS/MoSe2/CdTe/Au configuration, we achieved significantly improved performance, with a PCE of 27.05%, Voc of 0.747 V, Jsc of 43.57 mA/cm2, and FF of 83.09%. This research offers valuable insights and presents a viable pathway towards realizing cost-effective MoSe2-based thin-film solar cells with enhanced performance characteristics.

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The data will be available upon reasonable request.

Abbreviations

χ:

Electron affinity

BSF:

Back surface field

CB:

Conduction band

CBO:

Conduction Band Offset

CE:

Counter Electrode

CdTe:

Cadmium Telluride

c-Si:

Crystalline silicon

Eg:

Energy band gap

EQE:

External Quantum Efficiency

ETL:

Electron transport layer

FF:

Fill factor

HTL:

Hole transport layer

Jsc :

Short circuit current density

J-V:

Current density—voltage

MoSe2:

Molybdenum Diselenide

NA :

Shallow uniform acceptor density

PCE:

Power conversion efficiency

PV:

Photovoltaic

QE:

Quantum efficiency

Rs :

Series resistance

Rsh :

Shunt resistance

SC:

Solar cell

TFSCs:

Thin-film solar cells

TMDC:

Transition metal dichalcogenides

UV:

Ultraviolet

VB:

Valence band

VBO:

Valence band offset

Voc :

Open voltage current

εr :

Dielectric permittivity (relative)

ND :

Shallow uniform donor density

Nt :

Bulk Defect density

nt :

Interface defect density

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Acknowledgements

A. Irfan extends his appreciation to the Deanship of Research and graduate studies at King Khalid University for funding this work through Large Groups Research Project under grant number R.G.P.2/130/45. A. R. Chaudhry is thankful to the Deanship of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research at the University of Bisha, for supporting this work through the Fast-Track Research Support Program.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur, 5200, Bangladesh

    Naimur Rahman

  2. Advanced Energy Materials and Solar Cell Research Laboratory, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Begum Rokeya University, Rangpur, 5400, Bangladesh

    Abu Bakkar & Md. Ferdous Rahman

  3. Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur, 5200, Bangladesh

    Md. Dulal Haque

  4. Department of Electrical, Electronic and Communication Engineering, Pabna University of Science and Technology, Pabna, 6600, Bangladesh

    Sheikh Rashel Al Ahmed

  5. Department of Physics, Pabna University of Science and Technology, Pabna, 6600, Bangladesh

    Md. Hafijur Rahman

  6. Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Khalid University, P.O. Box 9004, 61413, Abha, Saudi Arabia

    Ahmad Irfan

  7. Department of Physics, College of Science, University of Bisha, P.O. Box 551, 61922, Bisha, Saudi Arabia

    Aijaz Rasool Chaudhry

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  1. Naimur Rahman
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Contributions

Md. Ferdous Rahman: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal analysis, Visualization, Investigation, Data Curation, Supervision, Writing-Original Draft, Review & Editing.

Naimur Rahman, Abu Bakkar, Md. Dulal Haque, Sheikh Rashel Al Ahmed, Md. Hafijur Rahman: Methodology, Software, Validation, Formal analysis, Visualization Investigation, Data Curation, Writing-Original Draft, Review & Editing,

Ahmad Irfan, Aijaz Rasool Chaudhry: Validation, Formal analysis, Writing-Original Draft, Review & Editing.

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Correspondence to Md. Ferdous Rahman.

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Rahman, N., Bakkar, A., Haque, M.D. et al. Impact of CdTe BSF layer on enhancing the efficiency of MoSe2 solar cell. J Opt (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12596-024-01855-5

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