Analysis of Sb2Se3/CdS based photovoltaic cell: A numerical simulation approach

Sb2Se3 is a promising earth-abundant and nontoxic material suitable for photovoltaic applications. In the present study, Sb2Se3/CdS heterojunction solar cells are numerical analyzed by the program SCAPS (Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator). The influence of thickness, hole mobility and defect density of Sb2Se3 layer, as well as the CdS layer thickness and the work function of back contact on the devices performance are simulated and analyzed in detail. Our studies show that, the optimal thickness for Sb2Se3 absorber and CdS buffer layer is 600 nm and 60 nm, respectively. The absorber defect density less than 1014 cm−3, interface defect density less than 108 cm−3 and hole mobility higher than 15 cm2/V.s in Sb2Se3 layer is required to guarantee good device performance. Meanwhile, the work function of back contact larger than 4.8 eV is beneficial. A maximum efficiency of 16.5% can be obtained after optimization of different parameters. The simulation results provide useful insights and guideline for the designing and fabricating of Sb2Se3 solar cells.