Flexible dye sensitized photovoltaics (f-DSPVs) based on plastic substrates have attracted significant interest due to their light-weight, flexibility, and compatibility with roll-to-roll processing, as well as their potential application to ubiquitous power sources. However, f-DSPVs exhibit inferior power conversion efficiencies (PCE) compared to conventional DSPVs since the fabrication process must be conducted at a low-temperature (≤ 150℃) to prevent thermal damage of the plastic substrates, which generally results in poor interconnection between the TiO₂ nanoparticles. Numerous novel low-temperature manufacturing approaches for flexible photoanode and counter electrode have been developed. In this review, current progress on low temperature strategies for f-DSPVs technology are discussed.

In this work, we investigated the thickness of Ag precursor layer to improve the performance of flexible CIGSe solar cells grown on stainless steel (STS) substrates through three-stage co-evaporation with Ga grading followed by alkali treatments. The small amount of incorporated Ag in CIGSe films showed enhancement in the grain size and device efficiency. With an optimal 6 nm-thick Ag layer, the best cell on the STS substrate yielded more than 16%, which is comparable to the soda-lime glass (SLG) substrate. Thus, the addition of controlled Ag combined with alkali post-deposition treatment (PDT) led to increased open-circuit voltage (VOC), accompanied by the increased built-in potential as confirmed by capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements. It is related to a reduction of charge recombination at the depletion region. The results suggest that Ag alloying and alkali PDT are essential for producing highly efficient flexible CIGSe solar cells.

Functional transparent electrode was achieved by metal oxide-metal-Metal oxide (OMO) structure. Tailoring of metal oxide and metal layers, optically transparent and electrically excellent OMO films were investigated. Silver (Ag) is adopted for the metal layer and Ag oxide (AgO) is reactively formed by flowing O₂ gas during the sputtering process. This spontaneous AgO formation from Ag simultaneously provides the good electrical interface with high transparency. Due to the feature of transparent electrode of OMO, it endows the shielding effect (SE) function of electromagnetic interference. Optically transparent and electrically conductive OMO electrode shows the high transmittance (83.7%) and low sheet resistance (6.5 Ω/☐) with SE of 29.54 dB.

Tin perovskite solar cells have attracted a lot of attention due to their potential to address the toxicity of lead, which is the biggest barrier to commercialization of perovskite solar cells. Unlike other lead-free perovskite, tin perovskite have a direct bandgap, which is suitable for use as light harvesting, and relatively good stability, which has led to a lot of attention. Since the first tin perovskite solar cell was reported in 2014, it has achieved an impressive power conversion efficiency of 14.81%. However, this efficiency is still low compared to that of lead perovskite solar cells, and the stability of tin perovskite solar cells is also an issue that needs to be addressed. In this review, we will discuss the basic properties of the tin atom in comparison to the lead atom, and then discuss the crystal structure, phase transition, and basic properties of tin perovskite. We will then discuss the advantages, applications, challenges, and strategies of tin perovskite, In particular, we will focus on how to prevent the oxidation of tin, which is arguably the biggest challenge for using tin perovskite solar cells. At the end, we summarize the key factors that need to be addressed for higher efficiency and stability, emphasizing what is needed to commercialize tin perovskite solar cells.

In this paper, a machine learning model by using a regression algorithm is proposed to estimate the power generation performance of the BIPV system. The physical model formula for estimating the generation performance and the proposed model were compared and analyzed. For the physical model formula, simple efficiency model, temperature correction model, and regressive physics model for changing an irradiance were used. As a result, when comparing the regressive physics model for changing an irradiance and the proposed model with the actual generation measured data, the respective RMSE values are 0.1497 kW, 0.0451 kW and the accuracy values are 86.44%, and 96.56%. Therefore, the proposed model implemented in this experiment can be useful in estimating power generation.

Solar energy had become the main energy industry of renewable energy along with hydroelectric power generation. One of the technologies that contributed to the popularization of photovoltaic power and the decrease in the unit price of photovoltaic modules was the large-area solar cell. However, as the area increased, the light receiving area increased and the current value increased accordingly. Since power loss occurs when the current value was large, the number of busbar was increased to increase the current collection rate, and a technology to lower the current value through half-cutting was developed. The bus bar of the solar cell served as a passage through which the generated current was transmitted. This was because when the number of busbar decreases, the moving distance of electrons increased, so the amount of power generation decreases and when it increases, shadows occured. An important aspect of the electrode design was the optimal balance of these busbars and number of fingers. Therefore, in this study, the characteristics of the solar cell according to the number of front bus bars of the large-area solar cell were simulated using Griddler 2,5 pro. After selecting the number of busbar with the best characteristics, the difference was compared by varying the number of fingers and a better direction for the number of cutting was presented.