Computational analysis of the effect of the surface defect layer (SDL) properties on Cu(In,Ga)Se2-based solar cell performances

•The effect of surface defect layer (SDL) properties on Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS)-based solar cell performances has been investigated.•The optimal thickness of the SDL to optimise the solar cells is in the range of 100–200 nm.•The band gap of the SDL beyond 1.3 eV improves the device performance.•The SDL defect density as well as carrier mobilities are the critical parameters for the limitation of performance for the CIGS solar cells.•The SDL plays an important role in designing high-efficiency and high-performance CIGS-based solar cells.

In this article, the performances of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells have been modelled and numerically simulated using the one-dimensional simulation program Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator in 1 Dimension (SCAPS-1D), and a detailed analysis of the effect of surface defect layer (SDL) thickness, band gap and carrier mobility with Fermi level pinning is presented. Furthermore, donor-type defect state density in the SDL has been investigated, and their effect on device performances has been presented. Based on the simulation results, optimal properties of the SDL for the CIGS solar cell are proposed. The simulated results show that the optimal thickness of the SDL to optimise the solar cells is in the range of 100–200 nm. The increase in the band gap of the SDL >1.3 eV improves the device performance by enhancing the open-circuit voltage (Voc), fill factor (FF) and conversion efficiency due to the larger quasi-Fermi energy-level splitting, and optimal band offset between the SDL and the buffer layer (CdS). The simulation results suggest that the SDL defect density as well as carrier mobilities are the critical parameters for the limitation of the performances for the CIGS solar cells. All these results show that the SDL plays an important role in designing high-efficiency and high-performance CIGS-based solar cells.