Performance Enhancement of an MoS(2)-Based Heterojunction Solar Cell with an In(2)Te(3) Back Surface Field: A Numerical Simulation Approach

[Image: see text] Researchers are currently showing interest in molybdenum disulfide (MoS(2))-based solar cells due to their remarkable semiconducting characteristics. The incompatibility of the band structures at the BSF/absorber and absorber/buffer interfaces, as well as carrier recombination at the rear and front metal contacts, prevents the expected result from being achieved. The main purpose of this work is to enhance the performance of the newly proposed Al/ITO/TiO(2)/MoS(2)/In(2)Te(3)/Ni solar cell and investigate the impacts of the In(2)Te(3) BSF and TiO(2) buffer layer on the performance parameters of open-circuit voltage (V(OC)), short-circuit current density (J(SC)), fill factor (FF), and power conversion efficiency (PCE). This research has been performed by utilizing SCAPS simulation software. The performance parameters such as variation of thickness, carrier concentration, the bulk defect concentration of each layer, interface defect, operating temperature, capacitance–voltage (C–V), surface recombination velocity, and front as well as rear electrodes have been analyzed to achieve a better performance. This device performs exceptionally well at lower carrier concentrations (1 × 10(16) cm(–3)) in a thin (800 nm) MoS(2) absorber layer. The PCE, V(OC), J(SC), and FF values of the Al/ITO/TiO(2)/MoS(2)/Ni reference cell have been estimated to be 22.30%, 0.793 V, 30.89 mA/cm(2), and 80.62% respectively, while the PCE, V(OC), J(SC), and FF values have been determined to be 33.32%, 1.084 V, 37.22 mA/cm(2), and 82.58% for the Al/ITO/TiO(2)/MoS(2)/In(2)Te(3)/Ni proposed solar cell by introducing In(2)Te(3) between the absorber (MoS(2)) and the rear electrode (Ni). The proposed research may give an insight and a feasible way to realize a cost-effective MoS(2)-based thin-film solar cell.