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Evaluation of a proposed barium di‑silicide tandem solar cell using TCAD numerical simulation

Optical and Quantum Electronics • 2023
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Publication Information
Authors M. Okil; Ahmed Shaker; Ibrahim S. Ahmed1; Tarek M. Abdolkader; Marwa S. Salem
Keywords Tandem solar cell; Barium di-silicide; Current matching; TCAD simulation; Power conversion efficiency
Journal Optical and Quantum Electronics
Publisher Not Available
Volume 55
Issue Not Available
Pages 475
publication.type International
Paper Link Open Link
Supplementary Materials Not Available
Abstract
Barium di-silicide (
BaSi2) material has attracted noteworthy interest in photovoltaics,
thanks to its stability, abundant nature, and excellent production feasibility. In this current
work, a two-terminal (2T) monolithic all-BaSi2 tandem solar cell is proposed and explored
through extensive TCAD simulation. A BaSi2
bottom sub-cell with a bandgap of 1.3 eV,
and a Ba(CxSi1−x)2 top sub-cell with a tunable bandgap are employed in the design. It was
found that a bandgap of 1.8 eV, which corresponds to x = 0.78, is the optimum choice to
obtain the maximum initial power conversion efficiency (η) of 30%. Then, the tandem
performance is optimized by investigating the impact of doping and the thickness of both
absorber layers. Further, the current matching point is monitored whilst altering the thickness
of the top cell resulting in η = 32.83%%, and a short-circuit current density (Jsc) of
16.47 mA/cm2. Additionally, we have explored the influence of the defect density in the
absorbers, and the work function of contacts on the performance parameters. All TCAD
simulations are accomplished using the Silvaco Atlas package under AM1.5G illumination.