Open Access

ARTICLE

Enhanced performance of tin sulfide thin-film solar cells via silicon substrate integration: a combined experimental and simulation study

O. Mekhbi^a, K. Kamli^b,*, Z. Hadef^b, O. Kamli^c, M. Bouatrous^d, N. Houaidji^e, L. Zighed^h

a Department of Technology, Faculty of Technology, University 20 August 1955, BP 26, 21000, Algeria
b Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, University 20 August 1955, BP 26, 21000, Algeria
c Department of mining and geology, Faculty of Technology, Bejaia University, 06000, Algeria
d Laboratory of condensed matter physics and nanomaterials, Jijel University, 18000, Algeria
e Laboratoire de physic-chimie des materiaux, Université Chadli Bendjedid, El-Taref
h Department of Petrochemistry and Process Engineering, 20 Aout 1955 University of Skikda, Algeria

* Corresponding Author:

Chalcogenide Letters 2025, 22(4), 331-339. https://doi.org/10.15251/CL.2025.224.331

Received 17 January 2025; Accepted 22 April 2025;

Abstract

This work presents a hybrid study that employs Ultrasonic Spray method for the deposition of SnS absorber films and SCAPS-1D simulation method for the analysis of various solar cell topologies. Different deposition times have been employed to optimize structural, optics, and electrical properties. To evaluate their potential as absorber layers for solar cells, the films were analyzed by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and tested for electrical performance. Complementary numerical simulations were carried out with SCAPS-1D in modeling ZnO:Al/i-ZnO/SnS₂/SnS solar cell structures. Results showed that optimized SnS thickness of 2.5 µm and high carrier density improve the performance of the devices and with a maximum of 6.37% PCE when integrated with silicon substrates.

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Keywords

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