Emerging inorganic compound thin film photovoltaic materials: Progress, challenges and strategies

Abstract: The efficient conversion of solar energy to electricity for human utilization heavily relies on the development of solar cells. Nowadays, a variety of high-performance solar cells are constantly emerging. Thin-film solar cells made from inorganic materials have constituted one of the major categories of solar cells showing potential in the fast growing photovoltaic (PV) market. In order to provide an overall grasp of and insight into the future direction of inorganic thin-film solar cell development, we review key emerging and representative inorganic photovoltaic materials including chalcopyrite Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe), kesterite Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 (CZTSSe), CdTe, Sb2Se3 and inorganic perovskite CsPb(I1−xBrx)3 in this paper. Absorber materials, evolution of device development, and current challenges and key strategies for performance enhancement are detailed.