Sb(2)Se(3) as an HTL for Mo/Sb(2)Se(3)/Cs(2)TiF(6)/TiO(2) solar structure: performance evaluation with SCAPS-1D

Perovskite-based solar cells (PSCs) have recently gained much attention due to their distinctive optical and electrical properties. Cesium titanium fluoride (Cs(2)TiF(6)) is an example of lead-free perovskite absorber material with a bandgap of 1.9 eV, making it suitable for a solar device. However, the high cost of the hole transport material (HTM) and other considerations prevent their commercial production. Antimony selenide (Sb(2)Se(3)) is well suited for HTM as it is low-cost material with a tunable bandgap. The work presents the TiO(2)/Cs(2)TiF(6)/Sb(2)Se(3)-based solar cell performance using SCAPS-1D simulation software. The effect of all the active layer thicknesses, defect density, hole-electron mobility, and temperature on the device is also simulated. I–V, C–V, and QE curves and energy band diagrams show the photovoltaic device's excellent performance. The outputs are competent enough with an efficiency of 22.10 % when Sb(2)Se(3) is used as a hole transport layer (HTL) in the device architecture. The results suggest that the lead-free solar cell is a promising future option for the solar cell community regarding environmental friendliness and high efficiency.