Optical characterization and performance analysis of tin-based perovskite solar cells: Experimental and theoretical study

This study entailed an examination of the optical properties of methyl ammonium tin iodide (CH3NH3SnI3), coupled with the utilization of optical absorption data in the SCAPS-1D software for simulating two distinct device models. From optical study of CH3NH3SnI3, the bandgap has been obtained to be 1.41 eV. Using this data in the SCAPS-1D software, the device configurations included Au/SnS/CH3NH3SnI3/TiO2/ZnO:Al with a hole transport layer (HTL) in the form of SnS, and Au/CH3NH3SnI3/TiO2/ZnO:Al, which is a HTL-free solar cell has been proposed and investigated. The investigation extended to an exploration of current density-voltage and quantum efficiency variations by studying the impact of defect density, temperature, and series and shunt resistance in these two device models. Following meticulous optimization, the HTL-based solar cell yielded an efficiency of 21.89 %, while the HTL-free solar cell achieved a remarkable 22.57 % efficiency. The incorporation of experimental optical data has offered profound insights into the performance of these solar cells.