Effect of defect densities of n/i interface and the absorber layer in a perovskite solar cell by Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator-1D (SCAPS-1D)

In this study, we investigated the structural properties of perovskite solar cell (PSC) through simulations that would help to select optimum parameters before the actual fabrication process. In the present study, a numerical simulation using Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator 1-D (SCAPS-1D) was performed. For the study, a cell architecture FTO/ZnO/CH₃NH₃PbI₃/Ag is investigated. The effect of variations in absorbing layer thickness and n/i interface defect densities on the solar cell performance was simulated. The simulation showed that the thickness can be optimized for the better performance of the PSC. The thickness of the absorber layer was increased from 2 μm to 27 μm in the simulation to find the optimum thickness for maximum conversion efficiency. Our studies showed that a minimum of 10 μm thickness is necessary for improving the efficiency of PSC. The n/i defect density was also varied from 10¹³ cm^-3 to 10¹⁸ cm^-3 and observed higher efficiency with the density 10¹³ cm^-3. By optimization of the respective thickness and the defect density, the best power conversion efficiency of over 18% is predicted by the simulation. Overall, our study may ultimately result in providing practical guides for the fabrication of high-performance perovskite solar cells.