Advances in solar photovoltaic technologies and the role of photonics

¹ 1 Centre de Nanosciences et de Nanotechnologies (C2N), CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, and Institut Photovoltaïque d’Ile-de-France, Palaiseau, France
² Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE, and Department of Sustainable Systems Engineering (INATECH), University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
³ Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory (PV- Lab), Institute of Electrical and Micro Engineering (IEM), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Neuchâtel, Switzerland

^* stephane.collin@cnrs.fr

Abstract

Solar photovoltaics (PV) is expected to play a crucial role in achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The past 15 years have witnessed remarkable progress in both research and industry. This review provides an overview of current technologies, including dominant silicon PV, emerging perovskite materials, premium III-V semiconductors, and alternative thin-film technologies. We also introduce the main research avenues, with a particular focus on the emerging field of tandem solar cells and the role of photonics.