http://ppaspk.org/index.php/PPAS-A <p><strong>HEC Recognized, Category Y</strong></p> <p><strong>Scopus CiteScore 2023: 0.7; SJR 2023: 0.148; SNIP 2023: 0.290</strong></p> <p>Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences: A. Physical and Computational Sciences is the official flagship, the peer-reviewed quarterly journal of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences. This open-access journal publishes original research articles and reviews on current advances in the field of Computer Science (all), Materials Science (all), Physics and Astronomy (all), Engineering Sciences (all), Chemistry, Statistics, Mathematics, Geography, Geology in the English. Authors are not required to be Fellows or Members of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences or citizens of Pakistan. </p> <p><strong>Online ISSN: 2518-4253 </strong><strong>Print ISSN: 2518-4245</strong></p> Pakistan Academy of Sciences en-US Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences: A. Physical and Computational Sciences 2518-4245 http://ppaspk.org/index.php/PPAS-A/article/view/1365 <p>This research utilized SCAPS-1D simulation software to model a high-efficiency CIGS-based solar cell with configuration Ag/ZnO:Al/i-ZnO/CdS/CIGS/Mo. Various optimizations were performed, focusing on the absorber layer’s thickness, acceptor density, and defect density to enhance the cell’s performance. Furthermore, the work function values of rear contact metals were analyzed to understand their influence on critical photovoltaic parameters like open-circuit voltage (V_oc), short-circuit current (J_sc), fill factor (FF), and power conversion efficiency (PCE). The impact of temperature was also analyzed, emphasizing the necessity of effective thermal management techniques to promise consistent and effective performance under varying environmental conditions. The study further emphasized the importance of the hole transport layer (HTL) in improving charge carrier collection and reducing recombination losses. Efforts to develop cadmium-free designs reinforced the push towards sustainable and eco-friendly photovoltaic technologies. The optimal parameters achieved in this study included an absorber layer thickness of 0.4 µm, acceptor density of absorber at 1×10¹⁸ cm⁻³, defect density of 1×10¹⁵cm⁻³, and a back contact selenium work function of 5.9 eV. Under AM 1.5 G spectrum illumination at 300 K, the optimized cell demonstrated exceptional performance, with a V_oc of 0.7338 V, J_sc of 36.352805 mA/cm², FF of 83.33%, and PCE of 22.23%. The results were benchmarked against existing literature, showcasing significant improvements in device efficiency. This study provides a comprehensive framework for optimizing CIGS-based solar cells and highlights their potential for delivering high-performance, sustainable solar energy.</p> Ateeq ul Rehman Shahbaz Afzal Iqra Naeem Tahir Munir Sakhi Ghulam Sarwar Muhammad Saleem Raphael Mmaduka Obodo Copyright (c) 2025 Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences: A. Physical and Computational Sciences 2025-03-25 2025-03-25 62 1 10.53560/PPASA(62-1)869 http://ppaspk.org/index.php/PPAS-A/article/view/1389 <p>The study of nonlinear equations and their effective numerical solutions is crucial to mathematical research because nonlinear models are prevalent in nature and require thorough analysis and solution. Many methodologies have been developed to obtain the roots of nonlinear equations, which have significant applications in several areas, especially engineering. However, all of these methods have certain challenges. The development of efficient and effective iterative methods is, therefore, very important and can positively impact the task of finding numerical solutions to many real-world problems. This paper presents a thorough analysis of a numerical approach for solving nonlinear equations using a recently proposed technique, which is a modification of the Regula-Falsi and Bisection numerical methods. The purpose of this work is to provide a novel and effective approach to solving nonlinear equations. The iterative technique for solving nonlinear equations, which has been examined in many scientific and technical domains, is based on the conventional Bisection and Regula-Falsi methods. The proposed approach for finding roots of nonlinear equations achieves second-order convergence. The performance of the newly developed technique was compared with conventional Bisection, Regula-Falsi, Steffensen, and Newton-Raphson methods, and its convergence was validated using several benchmark problems with different iterations. The results showed that, in terms of iterations, the newly developed method performed better than the traditional Bisection, Regula-Falsi, Steffensen, and Newton-Raphson approaches. This supports the credibility of the recently developed method and offers promise for future studies aimed at further refinement. Excel and MATLAB software were used for obtaining results and graphical representations. Besides this, the newly developed technique also has certain limitations. For instance, it cannot cover all possible types of nonlinear equations. Further testing on a broader range of functions, particularly those arising from specific scientific and engineering applications, would be valuable. Additionally, our current study focuses on one-dimensional root finding. Extending the approach to systems of nonlinear equations is an important direction for future research.</p> Inderjeet Rashmi Bhardwaj Copyright (c) 2025 Proceedings of the Pakistan Academy of Sciences: A. Physical and Computational Sciences 2025-03-10 2025-03-10 62 1 10.53560/PPASA(62-1)873