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Coatings
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Achievements and Challenges in Thin Film Solar Cells
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Achievements and Challenges in Thin Film Solar Cells

A special issue of Coatings (ISSN 2079-6412). This special issue belongs to the section "Surface Engineering for Energy Harvesting, Conversion, and Storage".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2022) | Viewed by 10189

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Isodiana Crupi

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Guest Editor
Engineering Department, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 9, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Interests: photovoltaics; thin films; nanostructures; material and device characterization
Dr. Daniele Scirè

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Guest Editor
Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Interests: photovoltaic; material characterization; electronic device characterization; power electronics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We would like to invite you to present your research in the Special Issue “Achievements and Challenges in Thin Film Solar Cells”. In recent years, remarkable progress has been made in the field of thin film photovoltaics, with a rapid increase in conversion efficiency using low-cost approaches.

Recent and ongoing research focus on novel materials, new architectures, processing techniques, and innovative ideas for improving the performance, reliability, and scalability of thin film solar cells.

The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight the most significant experimental and theoretical developments in thin film photovoltaic materials and devices, through a combination of original articles from leading groups around the world.

In particular, the topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Emerging thin film technologies;
  • Lightweight and flexible solar cells;
  • Innovative device architectures;
  • Surface passivation and carrier-selective contacts;
  • Transition metal oxides;
  • Nanostructured materials;
  • Light management strategies;
  • Optical coatings;
  • Advanced characterization methods;
  • Modeling and numerical simulation;
  • Novel materials and synthesis processes.

Prof. Dr. Isodiana Crupi
Dr. Daniele Scirè
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Coatings is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 4459 KiB  
Article
A Numerical Investigation on the Combined Effects of MoSe2 Interface Layer and Graded Bandgap Absorber in CIGS Thin Film Solar Cells
by Fazliyana Izzati Za’abar, Yulisa Yusoff, Hassan Mohamed, Siti Fazlili Abdullah, Ahmad Wafi Mahmood Zuhdi, Nowshad Amin, Puvaneswaran Chelvanathan, Mohd. Shaparuddin Bahrudin, Kazi Sajedur Rahman, Nurul Asma Samsudin and Wan Syakirah Wan Abdullah
Coatings 2021, 11(8), 930; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings11080930 - 3 Aug 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3496
Abstract
The influence of Molybdenum diselenide (MoSe2) as an interfacial layer between Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) absorber layer and Molybdenum (Mo) back contact in a conventional CIGS thin-film solar cell was investigated numerically using SCAPS-1D (a Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator). Using graded bandgap [...] Read more.
The influence of Molybdenum diselenide (MoSe2) as an interfacial layer between Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) absorber layer and Molybdenum (Mo) back contact in a conventional CIGS thin-film solar cell was investigated numerically using SCAPS-1D (a Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator). Using graded bandgap profile of the absorber layer that consist of both back grading (BG) and front grading (FG), which is defined as double grading (DG), attribution to the variation in Ga content was studied. The key focus of this study is to explore the combinatorial effects of MoSe2 contact layer and Ga grading of the absorber to suppress carrier losses due to back contact recombination and resistance that usually occur in case of standard Mo thin films. Thickness, bandgap energy, electron affinity and carrier concentration of the MoSe2 layer were all varied to determine the best configuration for incorporating into the CIGS solar cell structure. A bandgap grading profile that offers optimum functionality in the proposed configuration with additional MoSe2 layer has also been investigated. From the overall results, CIGS solar cells with thin MoSe2 layer and high acceptor doping concentration have been found to outperform the devices without MoSe2 layer, with an increase in efficiency from 20.19% to 23.30%. The introduction of bandgap grading in the front and back interfaces of the absorber layer further improves both open-circuit voltage (VOC) and short-circuit current density (JSC), most likely due to the additional quasi-electric field beneficial for carrier collection and reduced back surface and bulk recombination. A maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 28.06%, fill factor (FF) of 81.89%, JSC of 39.45 mA/cm2, and VOC of 0.868 V were achieved by optimizing the properties of MoSe2 layer and bandgap grading configuration of the absorber layer. This study provides an insight into the different possibilities for designing higher efficiency CIGS solar cell structure through the manipulation of naturally formed MoSe2 layer and absorber bandgap engineering that can be experimentally replicated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Achievements and Challenges in Thin Film Solar Cells)
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13 pages, 1362 KiB  
Article
A Facile Way to Improve the Performance of Perovskite Solar Cells by Toluene and Diethyl Ether Mixed Anti-Solvent Engineering
by Haifeng Yang, Hui Wang, Jincheng Zhang, Jingjing Chang and Chunfu Zhang
Coatings 2019, 9(11), 766; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings9110766 - 18 Nov 2019
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 5956
Abstract
Solvent engineering is one of the most widely applied preparation methods for the high- quality perovskite films. In this method, the choice of anti-solvent plays a very important role to improve the perovskite crystal quality. Here, we report a facile way to regulate [...] Read more.
Solvent engineering is one of the most widely applied preparation methods for the high- quality perovskite films. In this method, the choice of anti-solvent plays a very important role to improve the perovskite crystal quality. Here, we report a facile way to regulate the crystal quality of perovskite film by adjusting the ratio of toluene and diethyl ether in the mixed anti-solvent. Through the combination of characterization and measurements including scanning electron microscopy, the atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and the steady-state photoluminescence spectra, it reveals that the quality of perovskite films is obviously improved when the volume ratio of toluene to diethyl ether in the mixed anti-solvent is 1:1. The optimal device obtains power conversion efficiency of 16.96% with a short-circuit current density of 20.60 mA/cm2, an open-circuit voltage of 1.03 V, and a fill factor of 79.96%. At the same time, the device shows negligible current–voltage hysteresis and steady power output. Moreover, the stability of PSCs is significantly enhanced due to the perovskite film quality improvement by adopting 50% toluene mixed anti-solvent. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Achievements and Challenges in Thin Film Solar Cells)
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