Electrical engineering

Physics

Nanotechnology

Energy conversion efficiency

Current density

Heterojunction

Computer graphics (images)

Engineering

Perovskite (structure)

Planar

Voltage

Materials science

Layer (electronics)

Computer science

Photovoltaic system

Quantum mechanics

Chemical engineering

Optoelectronics

Open-circuit voltage

Short circuit

Heliyon

Hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are the novel fourth-generation solar cells, with impressive progress in the last few years. MAPbI3 is a cost-effective material used as an absorber layer in PSCs. Due to the different diffusion length of carriers, the electron transporting material (ETM) plays a vital role in PSCs' performance. ZnO ETM is a promising candidate for low-cost and high-efficiency photovoltaic technology. In this work, the normal n-i-p planar heterojunction structure has been simulated using SCAPS-1D. The influence of various parameters such as the defect density, the thickness of the MAPbI3 layer, the temperature on fill factor, the open-circuit voltage, the short circuit current density, and the power conversion efficiency are investigated and discussed in detail. We found that a 21.42% efficiency can be obtained under a thickness of around 0.5 μm, and a total defect of 1013 cm−3 at ambient temperature. These simulation results will help fabricate low-cost, high-efficiency, and low-temperature PSCs.

Impact of absorber layer thickness, defect density, and operating temperature on the performance of MAPbI3 solar cells based on ZnO electron transporting material