Due to recent advances in communication systems, dielectric and magnetic ceramics (ferrites) are attractive for use in devices. Spinel-type ferrites were the first material utilized in microwave devices; however, yttrium iron garnet (YIG) has low dielectric losses and is exploited in many applications. Owing to its high Faraday rotation, YIG films are utilized in magneto-optical applications. This study intends to examine the research trends and scientific research progress on highly cited papers discussing YIG films published between 2012 and 2022 using a bibliometric method. A comprehensive review of 100 scientific papers about YIG was performed from the Scopus database. The assessment of these highly cited papers was highlighted based on the following factors: publication trends and performance, limitations/research gaps, keywords, sub-fields, methodology journal evaluations, document type evaluation, issues, difficulties, solutions, and applications as well as guiding future YIG research. The majority of publications (99%) comprise experimental analysis, whereas 1% provide a based state-of-the-art overview. Ninety-one percent of articles focused on magnetization characterization. This bibliometric survey indicates that YIG film research is an expanding and developing field. The results of the data analysis can be utilized to improve the researchers’ understanding of YIG research and to encourage additional study in this area.

Zinc sulfide (ZnS) thin films prepared using the chemical bath deposition (CBD) method have demonstrated great viability in various uses, encompassing photonics, field emission devices, field emitters, sensors, electroluminescence devices, optoelectronic devices, and are crucial as buffer layers of solar cells. These semiconducting thin films for industrial and research applications are popular among researchers. CBD appears attractive due to its simplicity, cost-effectiveness, low energy consumption, low-temperature compatibility, and superior uniformity for large-area deposition. However, numerous parameters influence the CBD mechanism and the quality of the thin films. This study offers a comprehensive review of the impact of various parameters that can affect different properties of ZnS films grown on CBD. This paper provides an extensive review of the film growth and structural and optical properties of ZnS thin films influenced by various parameters, which include complexing agents, the concentration ratio of the reactants, stirring speed, humidity, deposition temperature, deposition time, pH value, precursor types, and annealing temperature environments. Various studies screened the key influences on the CBD parameters concerning the quality of the resulting films. This work will motivate researchers to provide additional insight into the preparation of ZnS thin films using CBD to optimize this deposition method to its fullest potential.

The metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) technique is commonly employed for texturing the wafer surfaces when fabricating black silicon (BSi) solar cells and is considered to be a potential technique to improve the efficiency of traditional Si-based solar cells. This article aims to review the MACE technique along with its mechanism for Ag-, Cu- and Ni-assisted etching. Primarily, several essential aspects of the fabrication of BSi are discussed, including chemical reaction, etching direction, mass transfer, and the overall etching process of the MACE method. Thereafter, three metal catalysts (Ag, Cu, and Ni) are critically analyzed to identify their roles in producing cost-effective and sustainable BSi solar cells with higher quality and efficiency. The conducted study revealed that Ag-etched BSi wafers are more suitable for the growth of higher quality and efficiency Si solar cells compared to Cu- and Ni-etched BSi wafers. However, both Cu and Ni seem to be more cost-effective and more appropriate for the mass production of BSi solar cells than Ag-etched wafers. Meanwhile, the Ni-assisted chemical etching process takes a longer time than Cu but the Ni-etched BSi solar cells possess enhanced light absorption capacity and lower activity in terms of the dissolution and oxidation process than Cu-etched BSi solar cells.

The influence of Molybdenum diselenide (MoSe₂) as an interfacial layer between Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGS) absorber layer and Molybdenum (Mo) back contact in a conventional CIGS thin-film solar cell was investigated numerically using SCAPS-1D (a Solar Cell Capacitance Simulator). Using graded bandgap profile of the absorber layer that consist of both back grading (BG) and front grading (FG), which is defined as double grading (DG), attribution to the variation in Ga content was studied. The key focus of this study is to explore the combinatorial effects of MoSe₂ contact layer and Ga grading of the absorber to suppress carrier losses due to back contact recombination and resistance that usually occur in case of standard Mo thin films. Thickness, bandgap energy, electron affinity and carrier concentration of the MoSe₂ layer were all varied to determine the best configuration for incorporating into the CIGS solar cell structure. A bandgap grading profile that offers optimum functionality in the proposed configuration with additional MoSe₂ layer has also been investigated. From the overall results, CIGS solar cells with thin MoSe₂ layer and high acceptor doping concentration have been found to outperform the devices without MoSe₂ layer, with an increase in efficiency from 20.19% to 23.30%. The introduction of bandgap grading in the front and back interfaces of the absorber layer further improves both open-circuit voltage (V_OC) and short-circuit current density (J_SC), most likely due to the additional quasi-electric field beneficial for carrier collection and reduced back surface and bulk recombination. A maximum power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 28.06%, fill factor (FF) of 81.89%, J_SC of 39.45 mA/cm², and V_OC of 0.868 V were achieved by optimizing the properties of MoSe₂ layer and bandgap grading configuration of the absorber layer. This study provides an insight into the different possibilities for designing higher efficiency CIGS solar cell structure through the manipulation of naturally formed MoSe₂ layer and absorber bandgap engineering that can be experimentally replicated.