Physical principles of losses in thin film solar cells and efficiency enhancement methods

Although there are individual reports on the efficiency enhancement methods in the form of news articles, highlights and research papers in the literature; there is no article mentioning all the methods used for enhancing the efficiency of a thin film solar cell. This article is focused on discussing the physical principles of losses in a thin film solar cell and the methods used for enhancing the efficiency. The article begins with a general outline about the thin film solar cell, its advantages, material requirements and its characteristics. Various losses in solar cell and how to overcome them in order to improve the efficiency of solar cell are discussed. Some novel methods used for enhancing the efficiency of thin solar cell are also discussed. Towards end, summary of some other parameters which can add to the efficiency of solar cell are described. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.