Recent advances in thin film compound semiconductor photovoltaics have demonstrated the potential for generating sustainable and cost-efficient energy, with demonstrated conversion efficiencies above 23% and advantages in manufacturing and materials costs. Both fundamental understanding and processing techniques have been enabling. Emerging areas of research include the materials science of degradation, understanding and controlling fluctuations in properties, reducing interface and grain boundary recombination, further simplification and cost reduction in fabrication, and tandem devices. The symposium will focus on the science and technology of single and polycrystalline materials, defects, interfaces, the interplay of materials and bandstructure, characterization methods, and advanced manufacturing in thin film compound semiconductor photovoltaics. Relevant materials include those based on chalcogenide semiconductors such as CIGSe, CZTS, and CdTe as well as the associated heterojunction partner materials. Novel absorber materials, heterojunction partner layers, and tandem devices are also of high interest. The symposium’s strong program of technical talks is tentatively planned to be augmented by the popular “Young Scientists' Tutorial” on the most critical topics in the field. An exciting addition this year is that a joint session is tentatively planned with symposium EN06 on the intersections of chalcogenides and perovskites focused on commonalities in terms of materials, processing, device physics, and integration into tandems.

chemical vapor deposition (CVD) (deposition) electronic material energy generation photovoltaic physical vapor deposition (PVD) polycrystal renewable semiconducting sputtering