Properties of Thin-Film Semiconductors and Their Applications in Photovoltaics

Dear Colleagues,

Photovoltaic energy is a clean and promising source of energy around the globe. A more popular way that it is distributed is through the application of silicon wafers. However, these wafers present some limitations, such as efficiency, which has not greatly improved in the last decade, and a high manufacturing cost. Thin-film technology is a response to the search for a more efficient and low-cost form of photovoltaic energy. Its many advantages include an abundant number of materials, such as cadmium tellurium; titanium oxide; zinc oxide; graphene; tin oxide; and vanadium oxide.  Additionally, these films can be synthesized through different routes, including spin coating, electrodeposition, chemical deposition, sputtering, and other forms of deposition that have been researched and optimized by many bodies of research in many countries.

This Special Issue will cover topics including new technologies of deposition and the growth of thin films on substrates; the characterization of different thin films applied for photovoltaic solar cells; the heterojunction of new materials to absorb light; cost analyses for production and manufacturing; doping of the film structure; and simulation of the performance and data of the thin films. The main goal is to expand this research and to connect the many faculties that are working on this issue.

Dr. Francisco Nivaldo Aguiar Freire
Guest Editor

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