pith. sign in

arxiv: 2604.10329 · v1 · submitted 2026-04-11 · ❄️ cond-mat.mtrl-sci

The Reemergence of Selenium Solar Cells

Rasmus S. Nielsen This is my paper

Pith reviewed 2026-05-10 15:30 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification ❄️ cond-mat.mtrl-sci
keywords seleniumsolar cellsphotovoltaicsthin filmsopen-circuit voltagecarrier dynamicsmaterial synthesisdefect physics
0
0 comments X

The pith

Selenium solar cells have reached over 10% efficiency but suffer from a persistent open-circuit voltage deficit due to material quality issues.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The paper reviews the recent revival of selenium as a solar cell material, noting that certified efficiencies have risen from a historical 5% to above 10%. It critically examines why carrier collection has improved while open-circuit voltage remains substantially below expectations, using comparisons of results from different research groups and drift-diffusion simulations. The analysis covers material properties, thin film synthesis strategies based on crystal growth kinetics, and identifies key challenges in defect physics and device engineering. A sympathetic reader would care because selenium's wide bandgap makes it suitable for tandem solar cells and indoor photovoltaics, so resolving the voltage loss could significantly advance these applications.

Core claim

Selenium, the oldest photovoltaic material, has seen efficiencies climb past 10% in the past decade through better thin films, yet devices consistently show a large open-circuit voltage deficit despite improved carrier collection. The review digitizes and compares published data to build a picture of carrier dynamics, examines synthesis methods and their impact on material quality via growth kinetics, and outlines open questions from atomic-scale defects to device engineering as a roadmap for higher performance.

What carries the argument

Digitized comparisons of independent group results on carrier dynamics, contextualized by drift-diffusion simulations, to identify dominant loss mechanisms in selenium thin films.

If this is right

  • Improved synthesis processes targeting crystal growth kinetics can enhance optoelectronic quality and reduce defects.
  • Addressing the voltage deficit could enable selenium's use in efficient tandem solar cells.
  • Indoor photovoltaic applications could benefit from selenium's bandgap if voltage losses are minimized.
  • Fundamental studies on defect physics are needed to unlock the material's full potential.
  • Device-level engineering must focus on interfaces to complement material improvements.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

These are editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • Similar voltage deficits in other thin-film materials might be analyzed using the same comparative simulation approach.
  • Experimental measurements of specific atomic-scale defects could directly test the simulations' assumptions about loss mechanisms.
  • Combining selenium with other established PV materials in tandems might accelerate commercial viability if the voltage issue is resolved.
  • Long-term stability under real-world conditions remains an implicit next step not detailed in the review.

Load-bearing premise

That the digitized published results from various groups accurately reflect the current state of the art and that drift-diffusion simulations capture all dominant loss mechanisms without overlooking unaccounted interface or defect effects.

What would settle it

Demonstration of a selenium solar cell with open-circuit voltage approaching the theoretical limit while carrier collection remains at current levels would indicate that the voltage deficit is not primarily tied to the analyzed material quality issues.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 2604.10329 by Rasmus S. Nielsen.

Figure 1
Figure 1. Figure 1: FIG. 1. Reported power conversion efficiencies (PCE) of selenium solar cells as a function of publication year (last updated: [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p002_1.png] view at source ↗
Figure 2
Figure 2. Figure 2: FIG. 2. Crystal structures of elemental selenium in its trigonal, rhombohedral, and monoclinic ( [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p004_2.png] view at source ↗
Figure 3
Figure 3. Figure 3: FIG. 3. Bulk (a) electronic and (b) phonon band structures, alongside the density of states (DOS), of trigonal selenium, calcu [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p005_3.png] view at source ↗
Figure 4
Figure 4. Figure 4: FIG. 4. Formation energies of intrinsic point defects in trigo [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p006_4.png] view at source ↗
Figure 5
Figure 5. Figure 5: FIG. 5. (a) Absorption coefficients of trigonal selenium thin films compiled from UV–vis spectroscopy measurements reported [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p007_5.png] view at source ↗
Figure 6
Figure 6. Figure 6: FIG. 6. Photoluminescence characterization of selenium thin films. (a) Stack plot of digitized steady-state PL spectra from [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p008_6.png] view at source ↗
Figure 7
Figure 7. Figure 7: FIG. 7. Reported carrier mobilities in trigonal selenium thin films. (a) DFT-calculated electron mobilities along the intra- and [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p010_7.png] view at source ↗
Figure 8
Figure 8. Figure 8: FIG. 8. Reported carrier lifetimes in trigonal selenium thin films. (a) Transient photoluminescence measurements fitted with [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p012_8.png] view at source ↗
Figure 9
Figure 9. Figure 9: FIG. 9. Reported doping density in trigonal selenium thin films. (a) Carrier-resolved photo-Hall measurements from Ref. [ [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p013_9.png] view at source ↗
Figure 10
Figure 10. Figure 10: FIG. 10. Electronic band positions in trigonal selenium thin films. (a) UPS measurements compared with the spectrally [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p015_10.png] view at source ↗
Figure 11
Figure 11. Figure 11: FIG. 11. Drift-diffusion simulations of selenium solar cells. (a) Simulated open-circuit voltage as a function of effective carrier [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p016_11.png] view at source ↗
Figure 12
Figure 12. Figure 12: FIG. 12. Seed screening strategies for controlling the crystallographic orientation of trigonal selenium thin films. (a) Schematic [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p020_12.png] view at source ↗
Figure 13
Figure 13. Figure 13: FIG. 13. Strategies for crystallizing selenium thin films. (a) Schematic illustration of dewetting, where a continuous as [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p021_13.png] view at source ↗
Figure 14
Figure 14. Figure 14: FIG. 14. Photovoltaic device performance of selenium thin film solar cells. (a) Schematic illustration of the device architecture [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p024_14.png] view at source ↗
Figure 15
Figure 15. Figure 15: FIG. 15. Derivative applications of selenium thin films beyond single-junction PV. (a) Schematic and cross-sectional SEM [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p026_15.png] view at source ↗
Figure 16
Figure 16. Figure 16: FIG. 16. The power conversion efficiency of various photovoltaic materials relative to their Shockley–Queisser (SQ) limit as a [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p028_16.png] view at source ↗
read the original abstract

Selenium, the world's oldest photovoltaic material, has experienced a renaissance in research over the past decade, with certified solar cell efficiencies climbing from the historical record of 5% to breaking the 10% barrier. Its wide bandgap makes it a particularly interesting candidate for tandem solar cells and indoor photovoltaic applications, yet despite steadily improving the carrier collection, devices consistently suffer from a substantial open-circuit voltage deficit. This review provides a critical analysis of the material properties and optoelectronic quality of state-of-the-art selenium thin films. Published results from independent groups are digitized and directly compared, collectively painting a comprehensive picture of the carrier dynamics, supported and contextualized by drift-diffusion simulations. Strategies for synthesizing and processing selenium thin films are also examined in detail, highlighting not only best practices but also the underlying crystal growth kinetics that ultimately govern material quality. Finally, a series of open questions and challenges is presented, spanning from fundamental materials science and atomic-scale defect physics to device-level engineering, providing a roadmap to unlock the intrinsic photovoltaic potential of selenium and guide the future development of higher-efficiency selenium solar cells.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Referee Report

2 major / 3 minor

Summary. This review examines the recent renaissance of selenium thin-film solar cells, noting certified efficiencies rising from a historical 5% record to over 10%. It argues that carrier collection (via Jsc and EQE) has steadily improved across independent groups, yet a substantial open-circuit voltage deficit persists. The analysis digitizes and directly compares published device metrics, contextualizes them with drift-diffusion simulations of carrier dynamics, reviews synthesis/processing strategies and crystal growth kinetics, and concludes with open questions spanning defect physics to device engineering.

Significance. If the data compilation and simulation-based attribution of the Voc deficit hold, the work is significant for consolidating the current state of selenium PV, identifying the Voc bottleneck as a fundamental limitation rather than a collection issue, and providing a roadmap for tandem/indoor applications leveraging its wide bandgap. Strengths include the systematic cross-group comparison and use of simulations to interpret trends; these could guide targeted improvements if the underlying data extraction and model assumptions prove robust.

major comments (2)
  1. [Data compilation and comparison section] Data compilation and comparison section: The central claim of steadily improving carrier collection alongside a consistent Voc deficit rests on digitized Jsc/EQE/Voc values extracted from published figures across groups. No quantitative assessment of digitization uncertainty (e.g., 5-10% reading errors) or explicit device-selection criteria is provided, which risks selection bias and undermines the robustness of the 'consistent deficit' conclusion.
  2. [Drift-diffusion simulations section] Drift-diffusion simulations section: The modeling attributes the remaining Voc deficit to specific bulk/interface mechanisms using effective lifetimes and recombination velocities. Without a sensitivity analysis to selenium-specific grain-boundary or surface defect densities (which standard effective-parameter implementations often omit), the attribution may not fully capture dominant losses and could be incomplete.
minor comments (3)
  1. [Figures] Figure captions for the compiled data plots should explicitly state the number of devices included, any exclusion criteria, and error bars from digitization to improve reproducibility.
  2. [Synthesis and processing section] The synthesis/processing section would benefit from a table summarizing best-practice parameters (temperature, deposition rate, annealing) linked to resulting film quality metrics.
  3. [Introduction] A few historical references on early selenium PV work appear under-cited in the introduction relative to the modern renaissance narrative.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

2 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for the constructive comments on our review. We address each major point below and have made revisions to strengthen the manuscript.

read point-by-point responses

  1. Referee: [Data compilation and comparison section] Data compilation and comparison section: The central claim of steadily improving carrier collection alongside a consistent Voc deficit rests on digitized Jsc/EQE/Voc values extracted from published figures across groups. No quantitative assessment of digitization uncertainty (e.g., 5-10% reading errors) or explicit device-selection criteria is provided, which risks selection bias and undermines the robustness of the 'consistent deficit' conclusion.

    Authors: We acknowledge that figure digitization introduces some inherent uncertainty. In the revised manuscript, we have added a new subsection under 'Data Compilation and Comparison' that explicitly describes our digitization protocol, including repeated measurements by multiple authors to estimate reading errors (typically <8% for the metrics involved) and cross-checks against any tabulated values in the source papers. We have also clarified the device-selection criteria: only peer-reviewed reports with complete Jsc, Voc, and EQE data from the last decade were included, excluding conference abstracts and non-peer-reviewed sources to reduce selection bias. These additions preserve the observed trends while quantifying the limitations of the approach. revision: yes

  2. Referee: [Drift-diffusion simulations section] Drift-diffusion simulations section: The modeling attributes the remaining Voc deficit to specific bulk/interface mechanisms using effective lifetimes and recombination velocities. Without a sensitivity analysis to selenium-specific grain-boundary or surface defect densities (which standard effective-parameter implementations often omit), the attribution may not fully capture dominant losses and could be incomplete.

    Authors: We agree that explicit sensitivity analysis would improve robustness. The revised manuscript now includes an expanded simulation section with additional drift-diffusion runs that systematically vary grain-boundary recombination velocity (10^2–10^5 cm/s) and surface defect density (10^10–10^12 cm^-2), using ranges drawn from literature on selenium and related chalcogenides. These results confirm that the dominant Voc loss remains attributable to bulk lifetime under realistic parameter spreads, while highlighting secondary contributions from interfaces; the updated figures and discussion are provided. revision: yes

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

Review of external literature data with no self-referential derivations or fitted predictions

full rationale

The manuscript is a review paper that digitizes and compares published results from independent groups, contextualized by standard drift-diffusion simulations. No equations, parameter fits, or derivations are described that reduce a claimed prediction or result back to the paper's own inputs by construction. The central claims rest on external published data rather than self-citation chains or ansatzes, satisfying the criteria for a self-contained analysis against external benchmarks.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 1 axioms · 0 invented entities

The review relies on standard semiconductor physics and published experimental data; no new free parameters, ad-hoc axioms, or invented entities are introduced in the abstract.

axioms (1)
  • domain assumption Drift-diffusion simulations can adequately describe carrier collection and voltage losses in selenium thin films when supplied with measured material parameters.
    Invoked to contextualize digitized experimental data on carrier dynamics.

pith-pipeline@v0.9.0 · 5479 in / 1177 out tokens · 52324 ms · 2026-05-10T15:30:42.367374+00:00 · methodology

discussion (0)

Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.

Reference graph

Works this paper leans on

167 extracted references · 167 canonical work pages

  1. [1]

    and Shenet al.[48] show that oxygen influences the crystallization kinetics of selenium, although the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Furthermore, sublimation during annealing directly impacts film conformality through pinhole formation, but further studies limited to annealing time and temperature alone are unlikely to provide substantial new insig...

    work page 2019

  2. [2]

    Despite significant improvements in re- ported efficiencies since 2019, the best-performing de- vices still rely on the structure first demonstrated by Todorovet al.in 2017 [13]

    PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES The review papers from 2019 by Zhuet al.[147] and 2026 by Shanget al.[148] very nicely sum- marize the device architectures explored for selenium solar cells. Despite significant improvements in re- ported efficiencies since 2019, the best-performing de- vices still rely on the structure first demonstrated by Todorovet al.in 2017 [13]...

    work page 2019

  3. [3]

    CHALLENGES AND OPEN QUESTIONS It has been an absolute pleasure to work through the literature on selenium thin films and solar cells, and to see how the field has developed – not only over the past centuries, but especially over the past decade. While sig- nificant progress has been made in both our fundamental understanding of the structural chemistry an...

    work page

  4. [4]

    CONCLUDING REMARKS The 2026 Nature Energy publication from Wenet al

    work page 2026

  5. [5]

    marked the first time selenium solar cells broke through the 10% efficiency barrier – certified! This is impressive in its own right, but even more so con- sidering the wide bandgap of selenium, which imposes a lower detailed-balance efficiency limit compared to lower-bandgap absorbers like crystalline silicon or GaAs. Fig. 16 shows the PCE of various PV ...

    work page

  6. [6]

    H. Ito, M. Oka, T. Ogino, A. Takeda, and Y. Mizushima, Selenium Thin Film Solar Cell, Japanese Journal of Ap- plied Physics21, 77 (1982)

    work page 1982

  7. [7]

    Kunioka and T

    A. Kunioka and T. Nakada, High-Efficiency Selenium Photovoltaic Solar Cells, Japanese Journal of Applied Physics21, 73 (1982). 29

    work page 1982

  8. [8]

    H. Ito, M. Oko, T. Ogino, A. Takeda, and Y. Mizushima, Selenium Thin-Film Solar Cell, Japanese Journal of Ap- plied Physics23, 719 (1984)

    work page 1984

  9. [9]

    Nakada and A

    T. Nakada and A. Kunioka, Efficient ITO/Se Het- erojunction Solar Cells, Japanese Journal of Applied Physics23, L587 (1984)

    work page 1984

  10. [10]

    Nakada and A

    T. Nakada and A. Kunioka, Polycrystalline Thin-Film TiO2/Se Solar Cells, Japanese Journal of Applied Physics24, L536 (1985)

    work page 1985

  11. [11]

    C. H. Champness and C. H. Chan, Optimization of CdO layer in a Se-CdO photovoltaic cell, Solar Energy Ma- terials and Solar Cells37, 75 (1995)

    work page 1995

  12. [12]

    Tennakone, G

    K. Tennakone, G. R. Kumara, I. R. Kottegoda, V. P. Perera, and G. M. Aponsu, Nanoporous n- TiO2/selenium/p-CuCNS photovoltaic cell, Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics31, 2326 (1998)

    work page 1998

  13. [13]

    J. Qian, K. J. Jiang, J. H. Huang, Q. S. Liu, L. M. Yang, and Y. Song, A Selenium-Based Cathode for a High-Voltage Tandem Photoelectrochemical Solar Cell, Angewandte Chemie51, 10351 (2012)

    work page 2012

  14. [14]

    D. C. Nguyen, S. Tanaka, H. Nishino, K. Manabe, and S. Ito, 3-D solar cells by electrochemical-deposited Se layer as extremely-thin absorber and hole conducting layer on nanocrystalline TiO 2 electrode, Nanoscale Re- search Letters8, 1 (2013)

    work page 2013

  15. [15]

    Panahi-Kalamuei, M

    M. Panahi-Kalamuei, M. Salavati-Niasari, and S. M. Hosseinpour-Mashkani, Facile microwave synthesis, characterization, and solar cell application of selenium nanoparticles, Journal of Alloys and Compounds617, 627 (2014)

    work page 2014

  16. [16]

    K. Wang, Y. Shi, H. Zhang, Y. Xing, Q. Dong, and T. Ma, Selenium as a photoabsorber for inorganic- organic hybrid solar cells, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics16, 23316 (2014)

    work page 2014

  17. [17]

    M. Zhu, F. Hao, L. Ma, T.-B. Song, C. E. Miller, M. R. Wasielewski, X. Li, and M. G. Kanatzidis, Solution- Processed Air-Stable Mesoscopic Selenium Solar Cells, ACS Energy Letters1, 469 (2016)

    work page 2016

  18. [18]

    T. K. Todorov, S. Singh, D. M. Bishop, O. Gunawan, Y. S. Lee, T. S. Gershon, K. W. Brew, P. D. An- tunez, and R. Haight, Ultrathin high band gap solar cells with improved efficiencies from the world’s oldest photovoltaic material, Nature Communications8, 682 (2017)

    work page 2017

  19. [19]

    M. Zhu, Y. Deng, W. Liu, and X. Li, Preparation of Se- based solar cell using spin-coating method in ambient condition, Chinese Physics B27, 015202 (2018)

    work page 2018

  20. [20]

    Hadar, X

    I. Hadar, X. Hu, Z. Z. Luo, V. P. Dravid, and M. G. Kanatzidis, Nonlinear Band Gap Tunability in Selenium-Tellurium Alloys and Its Utilization in Solar Cells, ACS Energy Letters4, 2137 (2019)

    work page 2019

  21. [21]

    Hadar, T

    I. Hadar, T. B. Song, W. Ke, and M. G. Kanatzidis, Modern Processing and Insights on Selenium Solar Cells: The World’s First Photovoltaic Device, Advanced Energy Materials9, 1802766 (2019)

    work page 2019

  22. [22]

    J. Wu, Z. Zhang, C. Tong, D. Li, A. Mei, Y. Rong, Y. Zhou, H. Han, and Y. Hu, Two-Stage Melt Pro- cessing of Phase-Pure Selenium for Printable Triple- Mesoscopic Solar Cells, ACS Applied Materials and In- terfaces11, 33879 (2019)

    work page 2019

  23. [23]

    W. Liu, F. Yu, W. Fan, and Q. Zhang, Improved stabil- ity and efficiency of polymer-based selenium solar cells through the usage of tin(iv) oxide in the electron trans- port layers and the analysis of aging dynamics, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics22, 14838 (2020)

    work page 2020

  24. [24]

    W. Liu, A. A. Said, W. J. Fan, and Q. Zhang, Inverted Solar Cells with Thermally Evaporated Selenium as an Active Layer, ACS Applied Energy Materials3, 7345 (2020)

    work page 2020

  25. [25]

    T. H. Youngman, R. Nielsen, A. Crovetto, B. Seger, O. Hansen, I. Chorkendorff, and P. C. K. Vesborg, Semi- transparent Selenium Solar Cells as a Top Cell for Tan- dem Photovoltaics, Solar RRL5, 2100111 (2021)

    work page 2021

  26. [26]

    W. Liu, F. Yu, W. Fan, W. s. Li, and Q. Zhang, Em- ploying Equivalent Circuit Models to Study the Perfor- mance of Selenium-Based Solar Cells with Polymers as Hole Transport Layers, Small17, 2101226 (2021)

    work page 2021

  27. [27]

    Nielsen, T

    R. Nielsen, T. H. Youngman, A. Crovetto, O. Hansen, I. Chorkendorff, and P. C. K. Vesborg, Selenium Thin- Film Solar Cells with Cadmium Sulfide as a Heterojunc- tion Partner, ACS Applied Energy Materials4, 10697 (2021)

    work page 2021

  28. [28]

    S. D. Deshmukh, C. K. Miskin, A. A. Pradhan, K. Kisslinger, and R. Agrawal, Solution Processed Fab- rication of Se-Te Alloy Thin Films for Application in PV Devices, ACS Applied Energy Materials5, 3275 (2022)

    work page 2022

  29. [29]

    L. Fu, J. Zheng, X. Yang, Y. He, C. Chen, K. Li, and J. Tang, Rapid thermal annealing process for Se thin- film solar cells, Faraday Discussions239, 317 (2022)

    work page 2022

  30. [30]

    Thomas, C

    L. Thomas, C. H. Don, and J. D. Major, An investiga- tion into the optimal device design for selenium solar cells, Energy Reports8, 14 (2022)

    work page 2022

  31. [31]

    Zheng, L

    J. Zheng, L. Fu, Y. He, K. Li, Y. Lu, J. Xue, Y. Liu, C. Dong, C. Chen, and J. Tang, Fabrication and charac- terization of ZnO/Se 1-xTex solar cells, Frontiers of Op- toelectronics15, 36 (2022)

    work page 2022

  32. [32]

    W. Lu, Z. Li, M. Feng, H. J. Yan, B. Yan, L. Hu, X. Zhang, S. Liu, J. S. Hu, and D. J. Xue, Melt- and air- processed selenium thin-film solar cells, Science China Chemistry65, 2197 (2022)

    work page 2022

  33. [33]

    Nielsen, T

    R. Nielsen, T. H. Youngman, H. Moustafa, S. Levcenco, H. Hempel, A. Crovetto, T. Olsen, O. Hansen, I. Chork- endorff, T. Unold, and P. C. K. Vesborg, Origin of pho- tovoltaic losses in selenium solar cells with open-circuit voltages approaching 1 V, Journal of Materials Chem- istry A10, 24199 (2022)

    work page 2022

  34. [34]

    B. Yan, X. Liu, W. Lu, M. Feng, H. J. Yan, Z. Li, S. Liu, C. Wang, J. S. Hu, and D. J. Xue, Indoor photovoltaics awaken the world’s first solar cells, Science Advances8, eadc9923 (2022)

    work page 2022

  35. [35]

    Kawagishi, Y

    T. Kawagishi, Y. Adachi, and T. Kobayashi, Photo- voltaic performances of TiO2/Se heterojunction devices with different crystallographic structures of sputter- deposited TiO 2 thin films, Materials Chemistry and Physics297, 127371 (2023)

    work page 2023

  36. [36]

    X. Liu, K. Duan, Z. Ma, X. Tian, F. Li, S. Liang, C. Qin, and X. Liu, Enhanced carrier management and photo- generated charge dynamics for selenium (Se) film pho- tovoltaics, Applied Physics Letters123, 063901 (2023)

    work page 2023

  37. [37]

    Nielsen, T

    R. Nielsen, T. H. Hemmingsen, T. G. Bonczyk, O. Hansen, I. Chorkendorff, and P. C. K. Vesborg, Laser-Annealing and Solid-Phase Epitaxy of Selenium Thin-Film Solar Cells, ACS Applied Energy Materials 6, 8849 (2023)

    work page 2023

  38. [38]

    Z. Wei, W. Lu, Z. Li, M. Feng, B. Yan, J. S. Hu, and D. J. Xue, Low-cost and high-performance selenium in- door photovoltaics, Journal of Materials Chemistry A 11, 23837 (2023). 30

    work page 2023

  39. [39]

    X. Wang, Z. Li, B. Jin, W. Lu, M. Feng, B. Dong, Q. Liu, H. J. Yan, S. M. Wang, and D. J. Xue, Sustain- able Recycling of Selenium-Based Optoelectronic De- vices, Advanced Science11, 2400615 (2024)

    work page 2024

  40. [40]

    Nielsen, A

    R. Nielsen, A. Crovetto, A. Assar, O. Hansen, I. Chork- endorff, and P. C. K. Vesborg, Monolithic Sele- nium/Silicon Tandem Solar Cells, PRX Energy3, 013013 (2024)

    work page 2024

  41. [41]

    R. Li, X. Chen, S. Bai, W. Xu, C. Xia, B. Zhang, Z. Jia, Y. Liu, H. Liu, X. Tian, Q. Cui, and Q. Lin, Efficient Se- lenium Photodiodes Based on an Inverted P-i-N Struc- ture, Chemistry of Materials36, 5846 (2024)

    work page 2024

  42. [42]

    W. Lu, M. Feng, Z. Li, B. Yan, S. Wang, X. Wen, X. An, S. Liu, J. S. Hu, and D. J. Xue, Ordering one-dimensional chains enables efficient selenium pho- tovoltaics, Joule8, 1430 (2024)

    work page 2024

  43. [43]

    R. S. Nielsen, M. Schleuning, O. Karalis, T. H. Hem- mingsen, O. Hansen, I. Chorkendorff, T. Unold, and P. C. Vesborg, Increasing the Collection Efficiency in Selenium Thin-Film Solar Cells Using a Closed-Space Annealing Strategy, ACS Applied Energy Materials7, 5209 (2024)

    work page 2024

  44. [44]

    W. Lu, Z. Li, M. Feng, J. Wei, X. Wen, X. An, Z. Wei, Y. Lin, J. S. Hu, and D. J. Xue, Lanthanide-Like Con- traction Enables the Fabrication of High-Purity Sele- nium Films for Efficient Indoor Photovoltaics, Ange- wandte Chemie - International Edition64, e202413429 (2025)

    work page 2025

  45. [45]

    Kobayashi, T

    T. Kobayashi, T. Miyamoto, R. Ogata, and Z. Jehl Li- Kao, TiO2/Se heterojunction photovoltaic device made from Se/Te/Se stacked precursor, Solar Energy Materi- als and Solar Cells277, 113120 (2024)

    work page 2024

  46. [46]

    Q. Liu, X. Wang, Z. Li, W. Lu, X. Wen, X. An, M. Feng, H. J. Yan, J. S. Hu, and D. J. Xue, Standing 1D Chains Enable Efficient Wide-Bandgap Selenium Solar Cells, Advanced Materials37, 2410835 (2025)

    work page 2025

  47. [47]

    Z. P. Huang, J. Huang, Z. H. Huang, Y. X. Chen, H. Li, L. M. Lin, Z. G. Huang, S. Y. Chen, and G. L. Chen, Hot pressing-induced selenium solar cells and the SCAPS simulation for its indoor photovoltaics application, Jour- nal of Alloys and Compounds1012, 178473 (2025)

    work page 2025

  48. [48]

    F. Bao, L. Liu, X. Wang, B. Xiao, H. Li, H. Yang, K. Shen, and Y. Mai, Modification of the Se/MoO x Rear Interface for Efficient Wide-Band-Gap Trigonal Selenium Solar Cells, ACS Applied Materials and In- terfaces17, 6222 (2025)

    work page 2025

  49. [49]

    V. K. Singh, M. K. Singh, S. Parveen, H. Dahiya, Kuldeep, R. P. Yadav, M. S. Chauhan, R. S. Singh, and V. N. Singh, Strategy to improve the performance of the one-element Selenium-based Solar Cells to 16.63%: An experimental and simulation study, Optical Materials 160, 116689 (2025)

    work page 2025

  50. [50]

    R. S. Nielsen, O. Gunawan, T. Todorov, C. B. Møller, O. Hansen, and P. C. K. Vesborg, Variable-temperature and carrier-resolved photo-Hall measurements of high- performance selenium thin-film solar cells, Physical Re- view B111, 165202 (2025)

    work page 2025

  51. [51]

    X. An, Z. Li, X. Wang, W. Lu, X. Wen, M. Feng, Q. Liu, Z. Wei, J.-S. Hu, and D.-J. Xue, Photovoltaic Absorber “Glues” for Efficient Bifacial Selenium Pho- tovoltaics, Angewandte Chemie - International Edition 64, e202505297 (2025)

    work page 2025

  52. [52]

    J. Wang, F. He, and M. Zhang, Innovative Vapor Trans- port Deposition Technique for Selenium Thin-Film So- lar Cell Fabrication, Nanoenergy Advances5, 8 (2025)

    work page 2025

  53. [53]

    K. Shen, X. Wang, B. Xiao, F. Bao, Y. Xie, J. Wu, F. Guo, H. Zhu, Z. Li, and Y. Mai, Oxygen-Assisted High-Temperature Deposition of High-Efficiency Trig- onal Selenium Solar Cells, Advanced Energy Materials 15, 2501930 (2025)

    work page 2025

  54. [54]

    Ca˜ no, A

    I. Ca˜ no, A. Torrens, O. Segura-Blanch, E. Maggi, A. Jim´ enez-Arguijo, O. El Khouja, A. Navarro-G¨ uell, D. Rovira, A. Aroldi, J. M. Asensi, X. Alcob´ e, C. Puig- janer, R. Schwiddessen, S. Schorr, A. P´ erez-Rodriguez, D. Sylla, Z. Jehl, E. Saucedo, and M. Placidi, Oriented for Efficiency: Textured Se Thin Films Fabricated by Vapor Transport Deposition...

    work page 2025

  55. [55]

    S. Y. Kim, U. Park, J. Y. Back, S. Lim, E. J. Kim, S. An, H. J. Do, S. M. Heo, D. Y. Kim, E. Kim, H. J. Park, and T. Moon, Selenium-Based Indoor Photovoltaics Featur- ing PEDOT Hole Transport Layers in a Regular Device Configuration, Energy and Fuels39, 15127 (2025)

    work page 2025

  56. [56]

    A. D. Alfieri, S. Das, K. Kisslinger, B. M. Everhart, C. Leblanc, J. Ford, C. R. Kagan, N. R. Glavin, E. A. Stach, and D. Jariwala, Hydrazine-free precursor for solution-processed all-inorganic Se and Se 1-xTex photo- voltaics, Journal of Materials Chemistry A13, 36953 (2025)

    work page 2025

  57. [57]

    Segura-Blanch, A

    O. Segura-Blanch, A. Torrens, I. C. Prades, A. Jimenez- Arguijo, L. Garcia-Carreras, L. Calvo-Barrio, J. M. Asensi, J. Puigdollers, M. Placidi, and E. Saucedo, Un- derstanding the Role of Transition Metal Oxides as Hole-Selective Contacts for Enhanced Efficiency in Se- lenium Solar Cells, ACS Applied Energy Materials8, 16729 (2025)

    work page 2025

  58. [58]

    X. Wen, Z. Li, W. Lu, J. Li, W. Xie, Z. Wei, S. Liu, Q. Liu, X. An, M. Feng, G. Liu, J. S. Hu, Y. Hou, D. J. Xue, and L. J. Wan, Illumination-assisted annealing en- ables selenium solar cells with open-circuit voltage over 1 V and efficiency exceeding 10%, Nature Energy11, 274 (2026)

    work page 2026

  59. [59]

    K. Duan, S. Miao, J. liu, K. Cheng, and X. Liu, Effect of post-deposition annealing time on photovoltaic per- formance of wide bandgap trigonal selenium solar cells, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells295, 114002 (2026)

    work page 2026

  60. [60]

    M. A. Green, E. D. Dunlop, M. Yoshita, N. Kopidakis, K. Bothe, G. Siefer, X. Hao, and J. Y. Jiang, Solar Cell Efficiency Tables (Version 66), Progress in Photo- voltaics: Research and Applications33, 795 (2025)

    work page 2025

  61. [61]

    Richter, M

    A. Richter, M. Hermle, and S. W. Glunz, Reassessment of the Limiting Efficiency for Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells, IEEE Journal of Photovoltaics3, 1184 (2013)

    work page 2013

  62. [62]

    Becquerel, M´ emoire sur les effets ´ electriques pro- duits sous l’influence des rayons solaires, Comptes Ren- dus de l’Academie des Sciences9, 561 (1839)

    A.-E. Becquerel, M´ emoire sur les effets ´ electriques pro- duits sous l’influence des rayons solaires, Comptes Ren- dus de l’Academie des Sciences9, 561 (1839)

    work page

  63. [63]

    Smith, Effect of Light on Selenium During the Pas- sage of An Electric Current, Nature7, 303 (1873)

    W. Smith, Effect of Light on Selenium During the Pas- sage of An Electric Current, Nature7, 303 (1873)

    work page

  64. [64]

    W. G. Adams and R. E. Day, The Action of Light on Se- lenium, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London167, 313 (1877)

    work page

  65. [65]

    Hertz, Ueber einen Einfluss des ultravioletten Lichtes auf die electrische Entladung, Annalen Der Physik267, 983 (1887)

    H. Hertz, Ueber einen Einfluss des ultravioletten Lichtes auf die electrische Entladung, Annalen Der Physik267, 983 (1887)

    work page

  66. [66]

    C. E. Fritts, On a New Form of Selenium Cell, and some Electrical Discoveries made by its use, American Journal 31 of Sciences3-26, 465 (1883)

    work page

  67. [67]

    Mertens,Photovoltaics - Fundamentals, Technology, and Practice(John Wiley & Sons, 2018)

    K. Mertens,Photovoltaics - Fundamentals, Technology, and Practice(John Wiley & Sons, 2018)

    work page 2018

  68. [68]

    Shockley, The Theory of p-n Junctions in Semicon- ductors and p-n Junction Transistors, Bell System Tech- nical Journal28, 435 (1949)

    W. Shockley, The Theory of p-n Junctions in Semicon- ductors and p-n Junction Transistors, Bell System Tech- nical Journal28, 435 (1949)

    work page 1949

  69. [69]

    D. M. Chapin, C. S. Fuller, and G. L. Pearson, A New Silicon p-n Junction Photocell for Converting So- lar Radiation into Electrical Power, Journal of Applied Physics25, 676 (1954)

    work page 1954

  70. [70]

    D. M. Bishop, T. Todorov, Y. S. Lee, O. Gunawan, and R. Haight, Record Efficiencies for Selenium Pho- tovoltaics and Application to Indoor Solar Cells, 2017 IEEE 44th Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC) , 1441 (2017)

    work page 2017

  71. [71]

    W. Yang, X. Zhang, and S. D. Tilley, Emerging Bi- nary Chalcogenide Light Absorbers: Material Specific Promises and Challenges, Chemistry of Materials33, 3467 (2021)

    work page 2021

  72. [72]

    B. A. Andersson, Materials availability for large-scale thin-film photovoltaics, Progress in Photovoltaics: Re- search and Applications8, 61 (2000)

    work page 2000

  73. [73]

    Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 (2026)

    U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 (2026)

    work page 2026

  74. [74]

    M. A. Green, Improved estimates for Te and Se avail- ability from Cu anode slimes and recent price trends, Progress in Photovoltaics: Research and Applications 14, 743 (2006)

    work page 2006

  75. [75]

    P. C. K. Vesborg and T. F. Jaramillo, Addressing the terawatt challenge: Scalability in the supply of chemical elements for renewable energy, RSC Advances2, 7933 (2012)

    work page 2012

  76. [76]

    Woods-Robinson, A

    R. Woods-Robinson, A. Abeynayaka, M. Carbajales- Dale, H. Chen, A. Cheng, G. Cooney, A. Kirchofer, M. Kumar, H. P. H. Liddell, L. Peterson, I. D. Posen, S. Moni, S. Sleep, L. Wachs, S. Zargar, and J. Berger- son, Controversy and consensus: common ground and best practices for life cycle assessment of emerging tech- nologies, Arxiv 10.48550/arxiv.2501.10382 (2025)

    work page doi:10.48550/arxiv.2501.10382 2025

  77. [77]

    J. K. MacFarquhar, D. L. Broussard, P. Melstrom, R. Hutchinson, A. Wolkin, C. Martin, R. F. Burk, J. R. Dunn, A. L. Green, R. Hammond, W. Schaffner, and T. F. Jones, Acute Selenium Toxicity Associated With a Dietary Supplement, Archives of Internal Medicine 170, 256 (2010)

    work page 2010

  78. [78]

    C. G. Wilber, Toxicology of Selenium - A Review, Clin- ical Toxicology17, 171 (1980)

    work page 1980

  79. [79]

    O. E. Olson, Selenium Toxicity in Animals with Empha- sis on Man, Journal of the American College of Toxicol- ogy5, 45 (1987)

    work page 1987

  80. [80]

    First Solar, 2025 Annual Report (2026)

    work page 2025

Showing first 80 references.