Amirkabir University of Technology Advances in Energy Sciences and Technologies 3115-9117 2 1 2026 07 01 Optimization of silicon solar cell performance through RF magnetron sputtered WS₂ thin films: Effect of coating thickness on photovoltaic characteristics 44 51 6161 10.22060/aest.2026.26208.1012 EN Seyedeh Zahra Mortazavi Physics and Energy Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), P.O. Box 15875-4413, Tehran, Iran 0000-0002-4420-6655 Shir Aqa Barekzi Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Imam Khomeini International University, P.O. Box 34149-16818, Qazvin, Iran Ali Reyhani Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Imam Khomeini International University, P.O. Box 34149-16818, Qazvin, Iran Journal Article 2026 07 07 This study investigates the effect of tungsten disulfide (WS₂) thin-film coatings deposited by Radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering on the performance of silicon solar cells. WS₂ layers with thicknesses of 120, 240, 400, and 600 Å were applied, and the photovoltaic characteristics were evaluated through I–V and P–V measurements. The results showed that coating thickness significantly influences cell performance. Efficiency improved for thicknesses between 120 and 400 Å, with the best performance obtained at 400 Å, where the fill factor increased from 0.5 to 0.6 and the conversion efficiency increased from 9.5% to 10.0%. However, a thickness of 600 Å reduced efficiency due to increased optical and electrical losses. The findings indicate that an optimum WS₂ thickness exists and that RF magnetron sputtering is an effective method for enhancing silicon solar cell performance. https://aest.aut.ac.ir/article_6161_5bf73bc6c6e6775d472621264309a88b.pdf