Open Access

ARTICLE

Investigations on the Optimization of Contacts Barrier Height for the Improved Performance of ZnO/CdS/CZTS Solar Cells

by Fatiha Daoudi^1,*, Abdelkrim Naas¹, Omar Meglali^1,2, Radia Boudaira³, Ahmed Gueddim¹, A. M. Saeed⁴

1 Material Science and Informatics Laboratory, University of Djelfa, Djelfa, 17000, Algeria
2 Faculty of Sciences, University of M’sila, M’sila, 28000, Algeria
3 Department of Physics, University of Constantine, Constantine, 25000, Algeria
4 Department of Physics, Division of Science and Technology, University of Education, Lahore, Pakistan

* Corresponding Author: Fatiha Daoudi. Email:

Energy Engineering 2023, 120(8), 1803-1815. https://doi.org/10.32604/ee.2023.028423

Received 17 December 2022; Accepted 31 March 2023; Issue published 05 June 2023

Abstract

The numerical simulations were performed using the AMPS-1D simulator to study the effects of the CZTS as an absorber layer and the contacts’ barrier height on the performance of four ZnO/CdS/CZTS solar cells. To obtain the best cell performances, the barrier heights of the back and front contacts were adjusted between 0.01, 0.77, 0.5, and 1.55 eV, respectively. For simulations, we used the lifetime mode, and the device performances were evaluated under AM1.5 illumination spectra. We found that the efficiency, fill factor, and open-circuit voltage were almost constant at a front contact barrier height of less than 0.31 eV. The short-current density was not affected by the front contact barrier height. The back contact material had a significant impact on the CZTS cells parameters. The best performance was obtained for the CZTS550 cell with J_SC = 29.53 mA/cm², V_OC = 1.07 V, FF = 0.88, and η = 28.08% at barrier heights of 0.31 and 1.55 eV for front and back contacts, respectively. The conduction band offset at the CZTS550/CdS hetero-junction was found to be spike-like with 0.21 eV. The obtained conversion efficiency is comparable to those previously reported in the literature.

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