Analysis of Hole Transport Layer and Electron Transport Layer Materials in the Efficiency Improvement of Sb₂(Se_1−xS_x)₃ Solar Cell

Sb2(Se1−x S x )3 compounds have been regarded as an excellent absorber in thin film solar cells processing. At present, the best efficiency reported in these chalcogenides of antimony corresponds to FTO/CdS/Sb2(Se1−x S x )3/Spiro‐OMeTAD/Au structure with 10.5%. Herein, a comparative study on the Sb2(Se1−x S x )3 solar cell performance with different electron transport layers (ETLs) and hole transport layers (HTLs) is carried out. The main photovoltaic parameters such as short‐circuit current density, open‐circuit voltage, fill factor, power conversion efficiency, and external quantum efficiency of devices with n–i–p structures are analyzed from a theoretical point of view. The impact of different ETL, HTL, and absorber thicknesses as well as the influence of Sb2(Se1−x S x )3 bulk and interface defects on the final efficiency of the device is investigated. After the optimization of the above physical parameters, it is demonstrated that with the FTO/ETL/Sb2(Se1−x S x )3/HTL/Au proposed structure, efficiency can be improved from 10% to 16%. In particular, it is found that Cd0.6Zn0.4S and ZnO are better candidates for ETL, while the use of NiO and Cu2O as HTL results in increased efficiencies in comparison to the traditional Spiro‐OMeTAD.