A Comprehensive Study of CsSnI3-Based Perovskite Solar Cells with Different Hole Transporting Layers and Back Contacts

By an abrupt rise in the power conservation efficiency (PCE) of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) within a short span of time, the instability and toxicity of lead were raised as major hurdles in the path toward their commercialization. The usage of an inorganic lead-free CsSnI3-based halide perovskite offers the advantages of enhancing the stability and degradation resistance of devices, reducing the cost of devices, and minimizing the recombination of generated carriers. The simulated standard device using a 1D simulator like solar cell capacitance simulator (SCAPS) with Spiro-OMeTAD hole transporting layer (HTL) at perovskite thickness of 330 nm is in good agreement with the previous experimental result (12.96%). By changing the perovskite thickness and work operating temperature, the maximum efficiency of 18.15% is calculated for standard devices at a perovskite thickness of 800 nm. Then, the effects of replacement of Spiro-OMeTAD with other HTLs including Cu2O, CuI, CuSCN, CuSbS2, Cu2ZnSnSe(4), CBTS, CuO, MoS2, MoOx, MoO3, PTAA, P3HT, and PEDOT:PSS on photovoltaic characteristics were calculated. The device with Cu2ZnSnSe4 hole transport in the same condition shows the highest efficiency of 21.63%. The back contact also changed by considering different metals such as Ag, Cu, Fe, C, Au, W, Ni, Pd, Pt, and Se. The outcomes provide valuable insights into the efficiency improvement of CsSnI3-based PSCs by Spiro-OMeTAD substitution with other HTLs, and back-contact modification upon the comprehensive analysis of 120 devices with different configurations.