Recent advances in alternative material photovoltaics

Alternative material photovoltaics (PVs) have started gaining more attention recently. Although the field is not new, it just started growing a few years ago. The PV market has been dominated by various silicon technologies, besides a few other popular thin films, such as CdTe, copper–indium–galium–selenide varieties and some III–V materials. This has been reflected in research as well. Successful developments of efficient solar cells using alternative absorbers will significantly enrich the PV industry and reduce the market gap with other energy sources. Hence, in this review, recent advances and trends to develop PVs using alternative materials are presented and discussed. The focus will be mainly on binary as well as environmentally friendly compounds and thin film devices. Nonetheless, some other more complex materials and structures will be briefly addressed.