University of Tehran Journal of Solar Energy Research 2588-3097 10 3 2025 07 01 Enhancing the Photovoltaic Performance of lead-free CH3NH3SnBr3 Solar Cells via Compressive Strain Engineering: A Numerical Investigation 2475 2490 104268 10.22059/jser.2025.396766.1580 EN Fatima Zahra Znaki Laboratory of Engineering, Systems and Applications, National School of Applied Sciences, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco. Khalid Said Laboratory of Engineering, Systems and Applications, National School of Applied Sciences, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco. Jihane Znaki Laboratory of Engineering, Systems and Applications, National School of Applied Sciences, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco. Mohamed Adadi Laboratory of Engineering, Systems and Applications, National School of Applied Sciences, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco. Hassane Moustabchir Laboratory of Engineering, Systems and Applications, National School of Applied Sciences, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco. Samir Chtita Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Materials, Faculty of Sciences Ben M’Sik, Hassan II University of Casablanca, P.O. Box 7955, Casablanca, Morocco. 0000-0003-2344-5101 Adil Touimi Benjelloun LIMAS, Faculty of Sciences Dhar El Mahraz, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco. Souad El Khattabi Laboratory of Engineering, Systems and Applications, National School of Applied Sciences, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco. Journal Article 2025 06 05 Perovskite solar cells have emerged as a promising alternative to conventional silicon photovoltaics. Despite this progress, challenges related to long-term stability persist, particularly those arising from the presence of lead. To address these issues, researchers are actively developing lead-free materials that can deliver comparable performance. In this study, we use SCAPS-1D numerical simulations to investigate the photovoltaic performance of hybrid organic–inorganic perovskite solar cells based on CH₃NH₃SnBr₃. Our analysis focuses on the influence of compressive strain on device performance. We investigated strain levels (0%, –2%, –4%, and –6%) and found that –6% strain yielded the best performance. Furthermore, we systematically examined the effects of absorber thickness, bulk defect density, interface defect density, and operating temperature. The optimized device under –6% strain delivered an open-circuit voltage of 1.16 V, a short-circuit current density of 31.60 mA/cm², a fill factor of 89.02%, and a theoretical power conversion efficiency of 32.82%. Moreover, the applied compressive strain enhances the structural stability, offering a novel route toward efficient and durable lead-free perovskite solar cells. These findings demonstrate that strain engineering is a promising strategy to enhance the performance of lead-free perovskite solar cells while remaining consistent with the fundamental efficiency limits of single-junction devices. https://jser.ut.ac.ir/article_104268_70b50d77604295f071a2ebe2b972169f.pdf