Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) were fabricated using a photoelectrode covered by a porous layer of titanium dioxide, platinum counter electrode, iodide/triiodide electrolyte and three different dyes: phenylfluorone (PF), pyrocatechol violet (PCV) and alizarin (AL). After the adsorption of the dyes on the mesoporous TiO₂ layer, the measurement of absorption spectra of all the tested dyes revealed a significant broadening of the absorption range. The positions of highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and lowest occupied molecular orbital (LUMO) levels of dye molecules were determined, indicating that all three dyes are good candidates for light harvesters in DSSCs. The cells were tested under simulated solar light, and their working parameters were determined. The results showed that the implementation of the back reflector layer made of BaSO₄ provided an improvement in the cell efficiency of up to 17.9% for phenylfluorone, 60% for pyrocatechol violet and 21.4% for alizarin dye.

Thin film Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ (CIGS)-based solar cells with relatively high efficiency and low material usage might become a promising alternative for crystalline silicon technology. The most challenging task nowadays is to decrease the PV module fabrication costs by application of easily scalable industrial process. One of the possible solutions is the usage of magnetron sputtering system for deposition of all structures applied in CIGS-based photovoltaic device. The main object of these studies was fabrication and characterization of thin films deposited by sputtering technique. Structural and electrical properties of the sputtered films were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRD), and four-point probe resistivity measurements. The presented findings revealed technological parameters for which sheet resistance of molybdenum (Mo) back contact decreased up to 0.3 Ω/□ and to even 0.08 Ω/□ in case of aluminum layer. EDS analysis provided evidence for the appropriate stoichiometry of CIGS absorber (with CGI and GGI equal to 0.96 and 0.2, respectively). XRD characterization confirmed high-quality chalcopyrite polycrystalline structure of Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ film fabricated at relatively low substrate temperature of 400 °C. Characteristic XRD peaks of hexagonal-oriented structures of sputtered CdS and i-ZnO layers were noticed.

In the past four years, the number of prosumers utilizing photovoltaic (PV) installations in Poland has increased significantly, exceeding 1.3 million, reaching a total power capacity of 10.5 GW by the end of 2023. This paper presents a three-year energy yield analysis of the prosumer PV systems operating in Eastern Poland. The 9.6 kW system consists of high-efficiency monocrystalline photovoltaic modules in half-cut technology. Over the three years of operation, specific yields have been analyzed along with weather parameters, such as solar intensity, outdoor temperature, humidity, wind speed, rainfall, or snowfall. The average annual final yield was found to be relatively high, exceeding 1000 kWh·kW⁻¹ in each of the analysed years. The highest monthly specific yields of the analysed period were noticed during the summer, reaching the maximum value of 164 kWh·kW⁻¹ in 2022. The daily final yields varied from a minimum of 0.15 kWh·kW⁻¹ in Winter 2021 to a maximum of 6.8 kWh·kW⁻¹ in Spring 2022. Weather conditions increasing the energy yields, such as low average ambient temperatures together with high insolation periods, were noticed. Energy production in such favorable conditions reached a surprisingly high value of energy yield in April 2020, comparable to the summer months (151.0 kWh·kW⁻¹). The occurrence of heavy rainfall in summer was also noted as a desirable effect that leads to the natural cleaning of the PV modules. The average performance ratio during the analyzed period was found to be 0.85. The energy production of the PV system allowed the reduction of about 21 tons of CO₂ emission.

In recent years, photovoltaics (PVs) is the main driver of the renewable energy market growth in Poland. The number of photovoltaic installations, most of which are rooftop prosumer systems, is consistently growing. Therefore, the determination of the applicability and feasibility of photovoltaic systems under different climate conditions is of great significance. This study presents the performance analysis of four prosumer photovoltaic installations situated in the Eastern part of Poland, Lublin Voivodeship. The influence of various tilt angles, ranging from 19° to 40°, and azimuths (south, east, south–east, and east–west) on the final yield have been determined under one year of operation (2022). The average yearly final yield was found to be 1022 kWh·kW⁻¹, with the highest value obtained for the installation oriented towards the south, equal 1079 kWh·kW⁻¹. Then, the PV systems were simulated by the use of four specialized photovoltaic software: DDS-Cad 16, PVGIS 5.2, PVSOL premium 2022, and the PVWatts Calculator 8.2.1. A comparative analysis of the measured and simulated data in terms of the final yield was carried out. The data obtained from PVGIS and PVSOL demonstrated the highest degree of overall alignment of 92% and 91%, respectively. The most significant underestimation was noticed for the DDS-Cad software, which was equal to 77%. The most accurate predictions stand out for the system oriented to the south, while the weakest was found for the E–W installation.

Since early 1990s dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) has been developed by many research groups all over the World. This paper presents a review of researches focusing on photosensitizer influence on DSSC efficiency. Variety of dye substance has been analyzed. The highest efficiency around 11.2% has been noted for ruthenium-based DSSC devices. Natural dyes allowed to reach 4.6%. The most metal-free organic dyes resulted in efficiency ranged from 5% to 9%, however, some of them (e.g. Y123) allowed to obtain devices with efficiencies equal to 10.3%. Co-sensitization is the new approach which results in efficiencies up to 14.3%.

Al doped ZnO has been explored as a viable alternative to indium thin oxide, which is usually used as transparent electrodes' coverage but is expensive. Homogenous and durable ZnO:Al layers on glass have been obtained in radio frequency magnetron sputtering system by adjusting optimized deposition parameters, using ZnO ceramic target with 2 wt% Al2O3. Then, after growth process, annealing treatment has been introduced in order to improve the quality of the layers. Structural, electrical and optical properties of the obtained ZnO:Al layers are presented and discussed. From the application point of view, the best results (sheet resistance of 24 Omega/sq and transparency well above 85%) were achieved after annealing in 300 degrees C. (C) 2018 Association of Polish Electrical Engineers (SEP). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.