Enhancing CIGS Solar Cell Performance with Erbium-Doped TiO2 Nanomaterial: Simulation Study

J V Jayachithra; K Elampari; M Meena

doi:10.17485/IJST/v16i40.1935

Article

Enhancing CIGS Solar Cell Performance with Erbium-Doped TiO2 Nanomaterial: Simulation Study

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Indian Journal of Science and Technology

DOI: 10.17485/IJST/v16i40.1935

Year: 2023, Volume: 16, Issue: 40, Pages: 3453-3461

Original Article

Enhancing CIGS Solar Cell Performance with Erbium-Doped TiO2 Nanomaterial: Simulation Study

J V Jayachithra^1*, K Elampari², M Meena³

¹Research scholar, Department of Physics, S.T. Hindu College (affiliated to Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Abishekapatti, Tirunelveli), Nagercoil, 629002, Tamilnadu, India
²Associate Professor, Department of Physics, S.T. Hindu College, Nagercoil, 629002, Tamilnadu, India
³Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, S.T. Hindu College, Nagercoil, 629002, Tamilnadu, India

*Corresponding Author
Email: [email protected]

Received Date:01 August 2023, Accepted Date:16 September 2023, Published Date:25 October 2023

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Objectives: To find a proper rare earth-doped metal-oxide-based buffer layer for CIGS solar cells with improved performance that has less harmfulness than cadmium. Methods: This study concentrated on the synthesis of pure and Er-doped TiO2 nanomaterials via microwave-assisted hydrothermal method and its characterization results. Additionally, to analyze the performance of TiO2 and Er-doped TiO2 as a buffer layer in a CIGS solar cell, numerical simulations were performed using the SCAPS-1D (Solar cell capacitance simulator) software. Findings: The positive outcomes came from the characterization results, which revealed that the synthesized nanomaterials have an anatase phase, microscopic crystallite size, and flower-like shape. The band gap effectively decreases from 3.45 eV for pure TiO2 to 2.75 eV for Er-doped TiO2, which effectively increases the absorption in the visible portion of the solar spectrum. The refractive indices of pure and Er-doped TiO2 were calculated as 2.37 and 2.50 respectively from their corresponding band gaps. The results from the simulations showed that using a single buffer layer of Er-doped TiO2 uplifted the performance of the CIGS solar cell, resulting in higher open circuit voltage, increased short-circuit current density with overall efficiency, η = 25.31% compared to pure TiO2 and CdS-based dual buffer layers. Novelty: For the first time, the Er-TiO2 nanomaterial was studied as buffer layer material. The numerical simulation and characterization findings justify the adoption of Er-TiO2 as a buffer layer in CIGS solar cells.

Keywords: Hydrothermal method, Erbium, Buffer layer, CIGS, SCAPS

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Copyright

© 2023 Jayachithra et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Published By Indian Society for Education and Environment (iSee)