Simulation of Temperature Effect on the Photovoltaic Performance of a Perovskite/Silicon Tandem Solar Cell Using SCAPS-1D

Abstract

Temperature is a major environmental factor affecting solar cell performance. Therefore, evaluating solar cell behavior under varying temperatures is crucial for understanding their performance under real-world operating conditions. This is especially important for tandem solar cells, where the interaction between different semiconductor layers can influence the overall thermal response of the device. In this study, a two-terminal tandem solar cell with an FTO/TiO₂/n-MASnI₃/C-SiOx(n)/c-Si(p)/c-Si(p⁺) architecture was simulated using SCAPS-1D software. Before investigating the effect of temperature, the layer thickness and doping concentrations were numerically optimized to achieve a high-performance reference configuration. The optimized device achieved a power conversion efficiency of 27.60% at 300 K, with an open-circuit voltage of 0.7788 V, a short-circuit current density of 41.84 mA/cm², and a fill factor of 84.69%. Subsequently, the optimized configuration was simulated at temperatures ranging from 300 to 360 K in 10 K increments. The changes in current-voltage and recombination characteristics were analyzed, and linear regression was used to process the temperature-dependent photovoltaic parameters and calculate the temperature coefficients. This provided a quantitative measurement of the rate and direction of performance change with temperature, as well as an assessment of the linearity of these changes. The results showed that Jsc increased slightly, while Voc and FF gradually decreased, resulting in a PCE of 23.47% at 360 K. The temperature coefficients for Jsc, Voc, FF, and PCE were +0.0038% °C⁻¹, −1.47 mV °C⁻¹, −0.07055% °C⁻¹, and −0.2488% °C⁻¹, respectively. These results identify voltage-related parameters as the primary contributor to the simulated device's low performance. 

Long-term stability and performance measurements, is recommended to assess the reliability of the simulated thermal response and the device's long-term performance sustainability.