New Technologies in Photovoltaic Solar Cells

Dear Colleagues,

Photovoltaics (PV) solar cells are an exciting and promising approach for sustainable and clean renewable energy generation, offering different approaches in terms of device PV system design, modelling, fabrication, and analysis for conversion efficiency improvement. For sustainable PV systems, nano-structured solar cells have a great potential to reduce the cost by eliminating wafer slicing and reducing material consumption by a factor of higher than ten. The current progress of PV systems is causing the demand for silicon wafers to outstrip the capacity to supply, creating a market entry opportunity for PV technology and nano-structured PV cells. An absorber layer can be deposited at the required thickness, greatly reducing wastage as source material utilization is a very good approach. Various substrates, such as insulators or metals, are used for the deposition of different layers using different deposition techniques. This versatility allows the tailoring and engineering of layers to improve device performance and the conversion efficiency of PV cells and systems. For large-area devices required for realistic applications, a proper understanding of the processes can assist in achieving high conversion efficiency for different nano-structured or PV cells. Research and development are focusing on new, exotic, and simple materials and devices, providing sustainable energy systems. However, there is a need to pursue simple manufacturing processes for PV in a focused manner.

Therefore, we welcome research and review papers (both theoretical and experimental) for the development of high conversion efficiency of nano-structured solar or PV cells and related areas. This Special Issue will cover, but is not limited to, the following:

• Nano-structured PV cell design;
• Nano-structured PV cells for high conversion efficiency;
• Plasmonics solar or PV cells;
• PV array systems;
• Design and modeling of plasmonic solar and PV cells;
• Multi-junction solar cells;
• Solar cell and PV system design;
• Nanotechnology for improving solar or PV cell conversion efficiency;
• Semiconductor devices for the development of PV solar cells;
• Renewable energy technologies for the development of high-efficiency PV cells.

We welcome papers on PV cells and systems, nano-structured solar cells, plasmonic solar cells, and semiconductor devices, as well as cutting-edge examples or models from industrial practice that can be used to encourage sustainable development and the performance of PV cells to promote high conversion efficiency.

Dr. Narottam Das
Guest Editor

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. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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.

• nano-structured solar cells
• PV array systems modeling
• multi-junction solar cells
• development of solar technology
• design and modeling of solar cells
• material structure and layers for solar cells
• light trapping capacity in PV cells
• plasmonic nanostructure for solar cells
• PV systems for high conversion efficiency
• nanotechnology for the development of PV solar cells
• semiconductors for solar cells
• renewable energy technologies
• high conversion efficiency solar cells