The core competences of the Laboratory are:

• High-efficiency thin film solar cells based on chalcogenide (CIGS, CdTe, CZTS) and organometal perovskite absorbers, both on rigid and flexible substrates, where the Laboratory holds several world records for highest conversion efficiencies;
• New materials and architectures for battery technologies such as Mg- or Al-based batteries for stationary storage of electricity and all-solid-state battery with high energy and power densities;
• Synthesis of nanocrystals using inexpensive solution growth methods, which find applications as bright luminophores or nanocrystalline electrode materials for multivalent batteries;
• Successful technology transfer of innovations to Swiss and European industries, e.g. the proprietary CIGS photovoltaic technology has been up-scaled to a full industrial production line by Flisom AG.

Laboratory for Thin Films and Photovoltaics forms a strong alliance with the group "Functional Inorganic Materials" at ETH Zürich headed by Prof. Dr. Maksym Kovalenko.