57 articles
2D material photovoltaics
2D material photovoltaics is the use of atomically thin materials such as graphene and transition metal dichalcogenides to generate electricity from sunlight, as absorbers or cell components.
2D/Si heterojunction solar cells
A 2D/Si heterojunction solar cell combines a two-dimensional material like MoS2 or graphene with crystalline silicon; reported MoS2/Si efficiencies reach 9.81%, with a modeled ceiling of 24.76%.
AgBiS2 nanocrystal solar cells
AgBiS2 nanocrystal solar cells are thin-film photovoltaic devices using a nontoxic silver bismuth sulfide nanocrystal absorber, first reported in 2016 with 6.3% efficiency and now reaching 10.84%.
Amorphous silicon solar cell
An amorphous silicon solar cell is a thin-film photovoltaic device using non-crystalline silicon, first made at RCA in 1976 and now used chiefly in calculators and indoor devices, limited by light-induced degradation.
Antimony selenide solar cell
An antimony selenide solar cell is a thin-film photovoltaic device using antimony selenide (Sb₂Se₃), an earth-abundant, low-toxicity absorber, as a candidate alternative to CdTe and CIGS, with record efficiencies of 10.12%.
Antimony sulfide selenide solar cells
Antimony sulfide selenide solar cells are thin-film photovoltaic devices using an antimony sulfoselenide absorber with a tunable 1.1–1.8 eV bandgap and record efficiencies of about 11%.
Bulk heterojunction
A bulk heterojunction (BHJ) is the photoactive architecture of most organic solar cells, blending electron-donating and accepting semiconductors into one network; introduced in 1995, it drove efficiencies beyond 20 percent.
Bulk heterojunction solar cell
A bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cell is an organic photovoltaic device whose light-absorbing layer blends electron donor and acceptor materials into a nanoscale network, introduced in 1995.
Cadmium telluride
Cadmium telluride (CdTe) is a semiconductor compound of cadmium and tellurium used in thin-film solar cells and X-ray and gamma-ray detectors, the second most common photovoltaic technology after silicon.
Cadmium telluride photovoltaics
Cadmium telluride (CdTe) photovoltaics are thin-film solar cells using a cadmium telluride absorber, the second most common solar technology after silicon, with 21% of the U.S. market in 2022.
CIGS
CIGS, short for copper indium gallium selenide, is a thin-film solar-cell absorber material whose certified laboratory record efficiency reached 23.64% in 2024, developed at Uppsala University with First Solar.
Close-spaced sublimation
Close-spaced sublimation is a physical vapor deposition technique in which a solid source and substrate sit close together in rough vacuum, best known for thin-film solar cells.
Colloidal quantum dot photovoltaic film
A colloidal quantum dot photovoltaic film is a thin solar-cell layer of solution-made lead sulfide quantum dots that absorbs near-infrared light, with certified efficiencies over 18%.
Concentrator photovoltaics
Concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) is a solar technology that uses lenses or mirrors to concentrate sunlight 200 to 1000 times onto small, high-efficiency multijunction cells, cutting semiconductor costs.
Copper indium gallium selenide solar cell
Copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) solar cells are thin-film photovoltaic devices whose Cu(In,Ga)Se2 absorber has a tunable bandgap, with a record lab efficiency of 23.6%.
Copper indium selenide
Copper indium selenide (CuInSe₂, often abbreviated CIS) is a chalcopyrite compound semiconductor used as the light absorber in thin-film solar cells; alloyed with gallium it forms CIGS.
Copper indium selenide solar cell
A copper indium selenide solar cell (CIS) is a thin-film photovoltaic device using the chalcopyrite semiconductor CuInSe₂ as its absorber; the first cell was reported by Kazmerski in 1976.
Copper redox mediators in dye-sensitized solar cells
Copper redox mediators are copper complexes, typically Cu(I)/Cu(II) couples, that shuttle electrons between dye and electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells, achieving over 32% efficiency under indoor light.
Cu2ZnSnS4 kesterite solar cells
Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) kesterite solar cells are thin-film photovoltaic devices using earth-abundant kesterite absorbers, with certified efficiencies reaching 16.6% in 2025 and potential as tandem bottom cells.
CZTS solar cell
A CZTS solar cell is a thin-film photovoltaic device with a kesterite copper zinc tin sulfide absorber built from earth-abundant, non-toxic elements in the CIGS architecture.
GaAs thin-film solar cell
A GaAs thin-film solar cell is a lightweight, flexible photovoltaic device whose few-micrometer gallium arsenide layer is separated from its wafer, usually by epitaxial lift-off, reaching 29.1% efficiency.
Harvard Clean Energy Project
The Harvard Clean Energy Project was a Harvard computational chemistry program launched in December 2008 that screened 2.3 million molecules for organic solar cell materials.
Hot-carrier solar cell
A hot-carrier solar cell is a proposed photovoltaic device that extracts photoexcited carriers before they cool, proposed by Ross and Nozik in 1982 with a theoretical efficiency of 66%.
III-V multijunction solar cell
A III-V multijunction solar cell stacks semiconductor junctions, typically gallium indium phosphide and gallium arsenide, that split the solar spectrum to reach record efficiencies. It powers most satellites.
III-V/Si solar cell
A III-V/Si solar cell is a tandem photovoltaic device stacking a III-V semiconductor top cell, such as GaAs, on silicon to convert more sunlight than either material alone.
Indoor organic photovoltaics
Indoor organic photovoltaics (IOPVs) are organic solar cells tuned to convert artificial light from LEDs and fluorescent lamps into electricity, powering low-consumption IoT devices indoors.
Indoor photovoltaics
Indoor photovoltaics are photovoltaic devices that convert ambient indoor light from lamps and daylight into electricity, primarily powering batteryless IoT sensors and other low-power electronics; leading technologies include perovskite, organic, and dye-sensitized cells.
InP quantum dot solar cells
InP quantum dot solar cells are photovoltaic devices using colloidal indium phosphide nanocrystals as the light-absorbing layer, studied as a low-toxicity alternative to lead- and cadmium-based quantum dots.
Intermediate band solar cell
The intermediate band solar cell (IBSC) is a proposed photovoltaic device with an extra band inside the semiconductor bandgap, proposed in 1997 with a theoretical efficiency limit of 63%.
Inverted organic solar cell
An inverted organic solar cell reverses the conventional layer order of an organic solar cell, placing the electron-collecting cathode on the substrate for better air stability.