Unlike current silicon-based photovoltaic technology, the development of last-generation thin-film solar cells has been marked by groundbreaking advancements in new materials and novel structures to increase performance and lower costs. However, physically building each new proposal to evaluate the device’s efficiency can involve unnecessary effort and time. Numerical simulation tools provide a solution by allowing researchers to predict and optimize solar cell performance without physical testing. This paper reviews thirteen of the main numerical simulation tools for thin-film solar cells, including SCAPS, AMPS, AFORS-HET, ASPIN3, GPVDM, SESAME, SILVACO, SENTAURUS, and ADEPT. This review evaluates each tool’s features, modeling methods, numerical approaches, and application contexts. The findings reveal notable differences in material modeling, numerical accuracy, cost, and accessibility among the tools. Each tool’s strengths and limitations in simulating thin-film solar cells are highlighted. This study emphasizes the necessity of selecting suitable simulation tools based on specific research requirements. It provides a comparative analysis to assist researchers in choosing the most effective software for optimizing thin-film solar cells, contributing to advancements in photovoltaic technology.

This paper highlights the attempts made by the government to integrate electromobility in Mexico, despite not having a well-defined National Electric Mobility Strategy, and compares the advances, challenges and future opportunities of electromobility with other countries with similar conditions in terms of the public policy, the evolution of the electric vehicles market, the charging infrastructure, incentives and legal framework, and diffusion channels. The results showed that Mexico has made partial advances in the infrastructure, production and exportation of electric vehicles, consumer incentives and project implementation. However, the country requires strengthening strategies on the economic incentives for the user and industry, homologation of chargers, training of personnel specialised in electric vehicles, handling and destination of batteries, and defining its National Electric Mobility Strategy. As a way forward, our study suggests comparing the electromobility strategies of other countries and understanding the key aspects that might enable the successful introduction of electric vehicles.

The development of switching converters to perform with the power processing of photovoltaic (PV) applications has been a topic receiving growing interest in recent years. This work presents a nonisolated buck-boost converter with a quadratic voltage conversion gain based on the I–IIA noncascading structure. The converter has a reduced component count and it is formed by a pair of L–C networks and two active switches, which are operated synchronously to achieve a wide conversion ratio and a quadratic dependence with the duty ratio. Additionally, the analysis using different sources and loads demonstrates the differences in the behavior of the converter, as well as the pertinence of including PV devices (current sources) into the analysis of new switching converter topologies for PV applications. In this work, the voltage conversion ratio, steady-state operating conditions and semiconductor stresses of the proposed converter are discussed in the context of PV applications. The operation of the converter in a PV scenario is verified by experimental results.

Tin sulfide doped with copper (SnS:Cu) thin films were deposited on glass substrates by the ultrasonic spray pyrolysis (USP) technique at different concentration ratios (y = [Cu]/[Sn] = 0% (undoped), 2%, 5% and 10%). The aim of this work is to analyze the effect of copper on structural, morphological, and optoelectronic properties of SnS:Cu and discuss their possible application as an absorber layer in a solar cell structure proposed which is simulated using SCAPS software. X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveals an orthorhombic structure in the undoped sample and a cubic structure in doped ones. Raman spectroscopy suggests a possible unit cell size change due to the addition of Cu. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows growth in grain density with an increasing y. Image analysis based on second-order features was used to discuss grain distribution. UV-VIS spectroscopy helps to find an increase of bandgap for the doped samples when copper concentration increases, going from 1.82 eV in the doped film y = 2% to 2.2 eV in the 10% doped samples. A value of 3.51 eV was found for the undoped sample y = 0%. A rise in both carrier concentration and mobility but a decrease in resistivity when y is increased was observed through the Hall–Van der Pauw technique. Simulations by SCAPS helped conclude that considering the material thickness, the SnS:Cu compound can be an alternative for implementation in the manufacturing of solar cells as an absorber layer since it is possible to obtain the optoelectronic properties necessary using the UPS economical technique.

Like all semiconductors, photovoltaic cells are sensitive to temperature. Under real operating conditions the temperature of cells increases with environment, shades or local defects (hot spots) and electrical effects. This increase in temperature causes a decrease in the electrical parameters of solar cells, which makes the electrical power and efficiency of cell are reduced, and also affect the average life of device. Photovoltaic cells have yields between 15% and 25% but efficiency decreases with increasing temperature up to 0.3% per degree centigrade. In practical terms the thermal part of solar radiation can increase the temperature inside the cell by about 30°C, and in turn decrease the yield to unsustainable values. The objective of this research is the application of the Peltier effect to reduce the impact of temperature on the efficiency of photovoltaic cells under operating conditions. For this reason, in this work an alternative was developed to find the suitable temperature for the photovoltaic cell to reach and maintain its highest efficiency. For this, a temperature control based on thermoelectric cells or Peltier effect is used. With the results optimal operating temperatures of the photovoltaic cell are proposed that do not impact the power of the cell.

In the last decade, the analysis of shading or sunlight in architectural projects has become an important role in improving building thermal and lighting performances. Selecting an appropriate software tool for this type of analysis is a challenging task given the little information available. Therefore, the paper reviews the existing literature on heliodon designs and computational tools for building shadow analysis. The review includes a detailed description and classification of various types of heliodons, along with their operating principles and geometric features that affect their performance, including light sources, positioning mechanisms, and structures. This paper also includes descriptions and classification of the computational tools for testing building shadow patterns and applications in architecture. Moreover, this paper shows the capabilities of different software packages and their essential features, strengths, and limitations. In addition, we identified the current gaps in the literature on heliodons and computational tools. According to the results, for the case of heliodons, there is a lack of error analysis and a standardized calibration process, therefore, repeatability of the results is difficult to achieve. In the case of computational tools, they have reached a higher degree of success in the market than the heliodons, however, the cost of licensing and learning curve can be a limitation.