Improving the efficiency of kesterite solar cells using semi-ellipsoidal nanostructures

Abstract

The use of kesterite materials in photovoltaic solar cells holds great promise due to their abundance, non-toxic nature, cost-effectiveness, and excellent optoelectronic properties. However, the power conversion efficiency of kesterite solar cells remains considerably below the Shockley-Queisser limit efficiency. This underscores the need for continuous development of new cell designs to maximize kesterite's potential for solar energy conversion. In this study, we presented a novel design for a kesterite solar cell incorporating semi-ellipsoidal nanostructures into the active layer to overcome its limitations and achieve higher efficiencies. Comprehensive simulations were conducted to study the effect of these nanostructures on solar cell performance. An extensive parametric study was also performed to identify the design parameters for the best performance. The results revealed that the presence of nanostructures significantly enhances power conversion efficiency, reaching a remarkable 17.6%, overcoming many challenging obstacles facing kesterite solar cells and making them more competitive in the ever-expanding solar cell market.

Keywords

• Kesterite
• Light trapping
• Nanostructures
• Photovoltaics
• Power conversion efficiency