Journal of Solar Energy Research

Enhancing the Photovoltaic Performance of lead-free CH3NH3SnBr3 Solar Cells via Compressive Strain Engineering: A Numerical Investigation

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Laboratory of Engineering, Systems and Applications, National School of Applied Sciences, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco.

2 Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Materials, Faculty of Sciences Ben M’Sik, Hassan II University of Casablanca, P.O. Box 7955, Casablanca, Morocco.

3 LIMAS, Faculty of Sciences Dhar El Mahraz, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez, Morocco.

Abstract

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.

Keywords

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Journal of Solar Energy Research
Volume 10, Issue 3
July 2025
Pages 2475-2490