Thin-Film Solar Cells: Materials and Devices for Next Generation Photovoltaics

Dear Colleagues,

Energy is the basis for the functioning of modern civilization, conditioning economic, technological and social development. At the same time, the predominant use of fossil fuels contributes to climate change and environmental degradation. In this situation, photovoltaic energy is of particular importance, enabling the direct conversion of solar energy into electricity.

Thin-film solar cells, including perovskite, organic, dye-sensitized, tandem, nano-structured and thermophotovoltaic devices, have made remarkable progress in recent years, creating new opportunities for high-efficiency, lightweight and cost-effective solar energy conversion. Nevertheless, significant scientific and technological challenges remain, particularly with respect to long-term operational stability, interface engineering, degradation mechanisms and scalable manufacturing processes.

This Special Issue of Materials aims to bring together original research articles and comprehensive review papers presenting the latest advances in thin-film photovoltaic materials, device architectures, fabrication technologies, characterization techniques and numerical modelling. We particularly welcome interdisciplinary contributions that integrate materials science, engineering, physics, chemistry and artificial intelligence to address current challenges and accelerate the development of commercially viable thin-film photovoltaic technologies.

Topics of interest for publication include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Thin-film solar cells
• Perovskites and Perovskite Solar Cells
• Dye-sensitized solar cells
• Nano-structured PV cells
• Multijunction tandem solar cells
• Thermophotovoltaic generators
• Organic PV materials and devices
• New concepts and device architectures for next-generation solar cells
• New materials and contact concepts

We warmly invite researchers from academia, research institutes and industry to contribute their latest original research and review articles. By bringing together the most recent advances from diverse scientific disciplines, this Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive overview of current trends and emerging directions in thin-film photovoltaics while fostering collaboration between fundamental research and industrial innovation. We look forward to receiving your valuable contributions to advancing the future of next-generation photovoltaic technologies.

Prof. Dr. Grzegorz Wisz
Dr. Mirosław Łabuz
Prof. Dr. Lyubomyr Nykyruy
Dr. Rostyslav Yavorskyi
Guest Editors

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