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Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) was a popular material as thin-film solar cells because of its
excellent bandgap as well as its absorption coefficient. However, doping can improve its
performance, notably in terms of efficiency as well as carrier dynamics, because CdTe's
electrical structure has a substantial impact on both photovoltaic and spintronic
properties. This study looks into the impact of doping elements like Cu, Al, along with
Au on the magnetic and electrical characteristics of CdTe. The goal is to understand
whether doping affects the magnetization behavior, bandgap, and total along with partial
density of the states (TDOS and PDOS) within CdTe absorber layers. Quantum
ESPRESSO was used to run spin-polarized DFT (density functional theory) simulations,
which were visualized using the Burai interface. The simulations included both undoped
CdTe along with CdTe doped using 3%, 6%, 9%, 12%, as well as 15% Al. Total magnetic
moment computations have been done as well as TDOS and PDOS for the spin-up as
well as spin-down channels. SCAPS 1D simulations revealed that 6% along with 9% Al
doping enhanced Jsc, Voc, and PCE, resulting in better solar cell performance. However,
both 12% and 15% Al doped resulted in decreased performance due to lower Jsc and
Voc. Absorption spectrum research indicated that mild Al doping boosts light absorption,
notably in the visible through near-infrared bands, hence increasing solar energy
conversion. Excessive doping caused flaws that reduced light absorption and degraded
solar cell performance. Furthermore, the work addresses the issue of a Schottky barrier
that forms at the metal to CdTe back contacts interface, whereby impedes hole transport
and adds to power loss. The findings show that dopants can change the metal/CdTe
interface as well as lower the Schottky barrier, hence enhancing carrier extract along with
average solar cell efficiency. These findings emphasize the necessity of accurate doping
control for improving CdTe-based materials of solar cells as well as spintronic
applications, as well as the possibility for better device performance via dopant
engineering.