Numerical study of high‑performance lead‑free CsSnCl3‑based perovskite solar cells

Cesium tin chloride (CsSnCl3) has emerged as a highly promising candidate for lead-free perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Realizing the full potential of CsSnCl3 in PSCs necessitates addressing challenges related to defect-free device fabrication, optimizing the alignment of the electron transport layer (ETL), and hole transport layer (HTL), and configuring the device to achieve peak performance. In this research, we introduce an innovative configuration for simulating solar cells via employing the SCAPS-1D simulator, incorporating efficient ETLs like ceric dioxide (CeO2) and HTLs based on CBTS. Simulation results illustrate that heterostructures comprising ITO/CeO2/CsSnCl3/CBTS/Au exhibit impressive photoconversion efficiency. Additionally, we scrutinize the impact of CsSnCl3 absorber thickness, series resistance, light conversion efficiency, and operating temperature. Furthermore, we delve into the combined effects of absorber thickness, ETL thickness, defect density, CsSnCl3 perovskite thickness, electron affinity, absorption thickness, ETL thickness, and doping. We assess parameters such as ETL acceptor characteristics, HTL thickness, HTL donor doping, current-voltage behavior, and quantum efficiency to gauge device performance. The simulation results from SCAPS-1D align well with both simulated and experimental data reported in the literature, showcasing an optimal open-circuit voltage of 0.96 V, a short-circuit current density of 32.22 mA/cm2, a fill factor of 86.40