BTO-Coupled CIGS Solar Cells with High Performances

In order to improve the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of Cu(In,Ga)Se-2 (CIGS) solar cells, a BaTiO3 (BTO) layer was inserted into the Cu(In,Ga)Se-2. The performances of the BTO-coupled CIGS solar cells with structures of Mo/CIGS/CdS/i-ZnO/AZO, Mo/BTO/CIGS/CdS/i-ZnO/AZO, Mo/CIGS/BTO/CdS/i-ZnO/AZO, Mo/CIGS/CdS/BTO/i-ZnO/AZO, Mo/CIGS/BTO/i-ZnO/AZO, Mo/CIGS/CdS/BTO/AZO, and Mo/ CIGS/CdS(5 nm)/BTO(5 nm)/i-ZnO/AZO were systematically studied via the SCAPS-1D software. It was found that the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of a BTO-coupled CIGS solar cell with a device configuration of Mo/CIGS/CdS/BTO/AZO was 24.53%, and its open-circuit voltage was 931.70 mV. The working mechanism for the BTO-coupled CIGS solar cells with different device structures was proposed. Our results provide a novel strategy for improving the PCE of solar cells by combining a ferroelectric material into the p-n junction materials.

Automated summary

In this study, a BaTiO3 layer was inserted to improve the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of CIGS solar cells. The performances of BTO-coupled CIGS solar cells with different device structures were systematically studied, and the working mechanism was proposed. The results showed that the BTO-coupled CIGS solar cell with the device structure of Mo/CIGS/CdS/BTO/AZO had the highest PCE of 24.53% and an open-circuit voltage of 931.70 mV. This suggests that combining a ferroelectric material with p-n junction materials is a novel strategy for improving the efficiency of solar cells.