The effects of CIGS absorber layer thickness and band gap energy on the performance of CIGS thin film solar cell: a numerical simulation

This work examines the effects of the Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) absorber layer on the performance of a CIGS photovoltaic cell through numerical simulation using Analysis of Microelectronic and Photonic Structure – 1Dimensional (AMPS – 1D) software. The band gap energy and thickness of the CIGS absorber layer were varied while keeping the other properties, such as carrier concentration of the CdS buffer and ZnO window layers, constant. The optimum value obtained for the band gap energy of the CIGS absorber layer was 1.2 eV, while the thickness was 2500 nm. These optimum values were used to simulate the optimum CIGS solar cell with 83.2% fill factor, 0.718 V open circuit voltage, 28.8 mA/cm2 short circuit current density, and conversion efficiency of 17.197%

Characteristics of hydrothermally synthesized SnS2 for thin film use

Tin disulfide (SnS2) nanoparticles were synthesized via hydrothermal process and were deposited as ultrathin layer (27.5 nm) onto SLG via vacuum thermal evaporation. The SnS2 nanoparticles were characterized for their structural, purity, chemical, morphological, optical and electrical properties. The XRD patterns and the Raman spectra confirmed the successful synthesis of SnS2 nanoparticles. The stoichiometry and leaf like structure obtained from EDS and FESEM analysis of the SnS2 nanoparticles further proved its formation. The ultrathin layer deposited and annealed at 300 °C for 1 h showed XRD patterns of hexagonal structured SnS2 with crystallinity of 57.7 nm, bandgap energy of 2.7 eV and resistivity of 0.65 Ω cm