Computational Study of Ternary Devices: Stable, Low-Cost, and Efficient Planar Perovskite Solar Cells

Although perovskite solar cells with power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) more than 22% have been realized with expensive organic charge-transporting materials, their stability and high cost remain to be addressed. In this work, the perovskite configuration of MAPbX (MA = CH(3)NH(3), X = I(3), Br(3), or I(2)Br) integrated with stable and low-cost Cu:NiO(x) hole-transporting material, ZnO electron-transporting material, and Al counter electrode was modeled as a planar PSC and studied theoretically. A solar cell simulation program (wxAMPS), which served as an update of the popular solar cell simulation tool (AMPS: Analysis of Microelectronic and Photonic Structures), was used. The study yielded a detailed understanding of the role of each component in the solar cell and its effect on the photovoltaic parameters as a whole. The bandgap of active materials and operating temperature of the modeled solar cell were shown to influence the solar cell performance in a significant way. Further, the simulation results reveal a strong dependence of photovoltaic parameters on the thickness and defect density of the light-absorbing layers. Under moderate simulation conditions, the MAPbBr(3) and MAPbI(2)Br cells recorded the highest PCEs of 20.58 and 19.08%, respectively, while MAPbI(3) cell gave a value of 16.14%. [Image: see text] ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s40820-018-0205-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.