Harnessing the potential of RbPbBr₃ halide perovskite solar cells using C₆TBTAPH₂ as hole transport layer: A numerical analysis

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have garnered significant interest due to their potential as highly efficient absorbers in the solar cell manufacturing industry. Enhancing the performance of PSCs can be achieved by optimizing the solar cell layers. In this study, RbPbBr₃ perovskite was utilized as the absorber layer, and four different electron transport layers (ETLs) were combined with a single-hole transport layer (HTL) to form a total of four device structures for the first time. Numerical analysis was conducted using SCAPS 1D to optimize the absorber thickness and acceptor density, thereby improving device performance. Among the four device structures investigated, the FTO/ZnSe/RbPbBr₃/C₆TBTAPH₂/Au structure demonstrated the highest performance, achieving an optimal power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 32.85%, with corresponding open-circuit voltage (VOC), short-circuit current density (J_SC), and fill factor (FF) of 1.09 V, 34.72mA/cm² and 89.06%, respectively. In addition, the study identifies the optimal absorber thickness and acceptor density for PSCs to be 900nm and 1020 cm⁻³. Additionally, the effects of series-shunt resistance, temperature, quantum efficiency (QE), current density-voltage (J–V) characteristics and generation-recombination rates were analyzed for the three viable devices. The optimum shunt resistance is found around 10³Ω-cm², where further increase does not significantly affect performance. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for the future development of highly efficient RbPbBr₃-based PSCs. We anticipate that RbPbBr₃-based perovskite would be useful in designing cutting-edge technology for commercial solar cells.