A concise overview of thin film photovoltaics

Despite the advancements in photovoltaics, there is only minimal reductions in the cost of crystalline silicon solar cell technology. Hence it became crucial to explore low cost photovoltaic technologies for the continuous growth of industry. Discovery of thin layer semiconductor technology has opened up the path for thin film photovoltaics (TFPV). Due to fabrication of 200-300 times solar cells though TFPV, a significant reduction in cost has been achieved by photovoltaic technology. Although, these TFPV cells showcased lower efficiencies than conventional solar cells, they have reported higher energy output per unit cost.Copyright (c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the Innovative Technologies in Mechanical Engineering-2021.