Numerical Study of Mechanical Properties of Hybrid Solar Cell Thin Film Layers by Nanoindentation

Abstract

The evolution in the use of solar panels for generation of electricity has been immense throughout the world, especially in the last decade. This has seen both organic and inorganic solar panels, with both of them possessing unique mechanical properties. In recent years, however, research has been focused on the attempt to improve the use of organic and hybrid solar cells, as these are relatively cheaper than the inorganic ones. The major challenge is in its stability and mechanical properties, as it has restricted its use to the laboratory. The mechanical properties can be gotten through experimental method and through Finite Element Analysis (FEA). This project therefore sought to use FEA investigate the mechanical properties of a layer of hybrid solar cells thing film by nanoindentation. The set-up of the active layers of the perovskite, FTO-coated glass and Methyl Ammonia Lead Iodide was created on Abaqus 6.14 software, boundary conditions, constraints and appropriate meshing was done and similar mechanical properties were inputted using a 2D axis-symmetric model for the indentation. The results obtained where then further analysed to obtain mechanical properties such as Elastic Modulus and Hardness. It demonstrates that FEA can be effectively used to study the mechanical properties of both individual layers of a hybrid solar cell and the whole setup.