Effect of the n-MoTe2 interfacial layer in cadmium telluride solar cells using SCAPS

The SCAPS-1D simulation package is applied to investigate the possible influences of the n-MoTe2 transition metal dichalcogenide material buffer layer in the CdTe thin film solar cells. The electrical properties and the photovoltaic parameters of the CdTe thin film solar cells, with Molybdenum as a back contact, are addressed. The doping concentration, bandgap energy, and layer thickness of the n-MoTe2 have been varied for this study. It was found that the n-MoTe2 has a remarkable influence on the performance of CdTe thin film solar cells. The efficiency drops from 28.0% to 26.8% as the carrier concentration increases from 1 × 1016 cm−3 to 5 × 1016 cm−3, respectively. An optimum efficiency of about 12.7% has been obtained at a bandgap value of 0.95 eV. Finally, the thickness of the MoTe2 layer should be not less than 80 nm to maintain the remarkable overall solar cell performance.