Recent advances in Thin-Film Chalcogenide Semiconductor Photovoltaics have shown the large potential of these technologies for generating sustainable and cost-efficient energy, with demonstrated conversion efficiencies above 20% and several advantages in manufacturing and materials costs. In the last years, significant breakthroughs in the fundamental understanding of the established thin film materials have made them competitive with the mature Si-based solar cells. In addition to efficiency improvements, an emerging area of research is degradation science of chalcogenide materials and products, in order to establish and consolidate the industrial development and competitiveness of these technologies. At the same time, new promising materials that have already shown more than 10% efficiency are emerging, and they indicate great potential for further improvements. As the community continues to break these efficiency barriers, deeper understanding of the fundamental bulk and surface material properties, device behavior, advanced fabrication processes, and long-term performance have become even more important.

This symposium will focus on the science of materials, defects, interfaces, degradation, reliability, and devices; development of characterization methods; and advancement of manufacturing processes in thin film chalcogenide solar cells and related applications. Relevant materials and structures include - but are not limited to - Cu(In,Ga)Se2, CdTe, Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4, SnS, pyrites, and associated heterojunction partners and window layers. Reviews on innovative technology developments and fundamental scientific insights on materials will be included. A special session will be organized on the high-interest topic of tandem solar cells of chalcogenides with other technologies (e.g. CIGS/perovskite).