Impact on generation and recombination rate in Cu<sub>2</sub>ZnSnS<sub>4</sub> (CZTS) solar cell for Ag<sub>2</sub>S and In<sub>2</sub>Se<sub>3</sub> buffer layers with CuSbS<sub>2</sub> back surface field layer
Pratibha Chauhan, Surbhi Agarwal, Vaibhava Srivastava, Sadanand Maurya, M. Khalid Hossain, Jaya Madan, Rajesh Kumar Yadav, Pooja Lohia, D. K. Dwivedi, Asma A. Alothman
Abstract
Abstract For photovoltaic (PV) applications, the earth‐abundant and non‐hazardous Kesterite Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 (CZTS) is a possible substitute for chalcopyrite copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS). This research offers insight into the most innovative method for improving the performance of Kesterite solar cells (SCs) by using CuSbS 2 back surface field (BSF) and Ag 2 S and In 2 Se 3 as buffer layers, focuses on aligning energy bands, reducing non‐radiative recombination, and improving open‐circuit voltage (V oc ). The proposed cells are Ni/CuSbS 2 /CZTS/In 2 Se 3 /ITO/Al and Ni/CuSbS 2 /CZTS/Ag 2 S/ITO/Al by adding interfaces. The optimized CZTS SCs with In 2 Se 3 achieve a short‐circuit current density (J sc ) of 30.274 mA/cm 2 , fill factor (FF) of 89.15%, power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 31.67%, and V oc of 1.173 V. With the Ag 2 S buffer layer, PCE is 31.02%, FF is 88.61%, J sc is 30.245 mA/cm 2 , and V oc is 1.157 V. These results depict the potential of CZTS‐based SCs with improved performance compared with conventional structures.