Efficiency Enhancement of CZTS Solar Cells Using Al Plasmonic Nanoparticles: The Effect of Size and Period of Nanopartic
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https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-020-08524-w Ó 2020 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society
Efficiency Enhancement of CZTS Solar Cells Using Al Plasmonic Nanoparticles: The Effect of Size and Period of Nanoparticles MINA MIRZAEI,1 JAVAD HASANZADEH and ALI ABDOLAHZADEH ZIABARI2
,1,3
1.—Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Takestan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Takestan, Iran. 2.—Nano Research Lab, Lahijan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Lahijan, Iran. 3.—e-mail: [email protected]
In the present study, the performance improvement of the promising ecofriendly Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) solar cells have been investigated numerically using Al plasmonic nanoparticles. The optical and electrical simulations were performed using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. It was revealed that loading plasmonic nanoparticles on the topmost layer of the CZTS solar cell leads to light absorption enhancement in the cell. By sweeping the radius of plasmonic nanoparticles from 20 nm to 60 nm, a significant enhancement in the efficiency occurred. The variation of the external quantum efficiency (EQE) and photovoltaic current density–voltage (J–V) curve under air mass of AM1.5 with and without plasmonic nanoparticles were also studied. Key words: CZTS, solar cell, FDTD, Al nanoparticles, plasmon
INTRODUCTION Thin film solar cells (TFSCs) are classified as the second generation of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells. Because of their relatively high efficiency compared to silicon-based solar cells, and their cost-effectiveness, TFSCs are promising options. Amongst TFSCs, CIGS- and CdTe-based solar cells have shown a confirmed power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 23.35% and 21%, respectively.1 However, in addition to toxicity, the absence of abundant resources for In and Te in the earth’s crust makes them very expensive. For this reason, the major research focus is on the CZTS compound with the pure Kesterite structure. As a quaternary compound, CZTS is made from CuInS2 by exchanging In with Zn and Sn.2 CZTS is a p-type semiconductor; its constituent elements are non-toxic, naturally abundant and inexpensive.3 As an active layer in the solar cells, CZTS possesses a direct bandgap of
(Received April 26, 2020; accepted September 25, 2020)
1.5 eV that is very suitable for TFSCs and absorption coefficient over 105 cm1.4 The highest reported and confirmed PCE for CZTS TFSCs is 10%,1 which is lower than that of other TFSCs. However, works on CZTS TFSCs are more recent than CIGS- and CdTe-based solar cells. Thus, there is much hope for improving the performance and increasing the PCE of CZTS solar cells. So far, much effort has been devoted both experimentally and theoretically to present solutions for performance improvement of CZTS TFSCs.5–8 Optical loss is the main challenge in increasing the conversion efficiency of TFSCs. Therefore, light trapping methods are necessary for maximizing the light absorption in TFSCs. One of the most promising effective approaches to increase the light trapping in solar cells is the use
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