Design and simulation of a high-performance CH3NH3Pb(I1–xClx)3-based perovskite solar cell using a CeOx electron transport layer and NiO hole transport layer

Herein, a novel planar heterostructure (ITO/CeOx/CH3NH3Pb(I1–xClx)3/NiO/Au) of a CH3NH3Pb(I1–xClx)3-based perovskite solar cell has been designed and numerically investigated. CH3NH3Pb(I1–xClx)3 has been introduced as an absorber layer due to its excellent thermal stability and high carrier diffusion length. Inorganic CeOx and NiO have been introduced as an electron transport layer (ETL) and hole transport layer (HTL), respectively, as their role in the enhancement of efficiency and stability of other perovskite-based solar cells has already been proven. The influences of different physical parameters of the CH3NH3Pb(I1–xClx)3 absorber layer, NiO HTL, and CeOx ETL on the device performance have been explored. The investigated results indicate that the thickness and carrier concentration of the CH3NH3Pb(I1–xClx)3 has a massive impact on solar cell performance. A considerable impact of the carrier concentration of the CeOx and NiO on device performance has also been observed. The role of CH3NH3Pb(I1–xClx)3-layer deep-level defects, CeOx/CH3NH3Pb(I1–xClx)3 interface defects, series resistance, and back contact work functionon solar cell performance were also studied. The optimized solar cell exhibited a power conversion efficiency of 26.05% with open-circuit voltage (V OC), short-circuit current density (J SC), and fill factor of 1.082 V, 29.41 mA cm−2, and 81.85%, respectively. This research indicates that the designed heterostructure of solar cells may appear as a viable alternative to manufacturing CH3NH3Pb(I1–xClx)3 high-performance perovskites.