ARTICLE IN PRESS

0927-0248/$ - se

doi:10.1016/j.so

Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 91 (2007) 1375

www.elsevier.com/locate/solmat

Guest editorial

Thin film photovoltaics—IMRC 2006, Cancun, Mexico

This special issue contains some of the selected papersfrom the symposium ‘‘Photovoltaics, Solar Energy Materi-als & Thin Films’’, held as part of the InternationalMaterials Research Congress—IMRC 2006, Cancun,Mexico from 20–24 August 2006. Some of the eminentscientists in the field of photovoltaics were broughttogether to share their knowledge of the leading thin filmphotovoltaic materials CdTe and CIGS and the devicesbased on these materials. There was a separate technicalsession dedicated for TiO2 and polymer-based devices, andthe enthusiasm was very high among the participants.More than 80 participants from different countriesattended the symposium, and presented 17 invited talksand more than 100 contributed presentations in thetechnical sessions. The poster sessions were filled withdiscussion and contact making, and the participantsbenefited with new ideas and collaboration opportunitiesaroused as a result of this meeting. We enjoyed organizingthis meeting bringing many eminent PV researchers,professors and students to Cancun, one of the finestCaribbean beaches, to share their experience and knowl-edge with the participants. Most importantly, it helped usto make many new friends and strengthen our collabora-

e front matter r 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

lmat.2007.05.017

tions in PV research that made worthwhile organizing thissymposium.From a large number of papers presented in the

symposium, 46 papers were selected for the peer reviewprocess of the journal, and out of that 30 papers wereaccepted and included in this special issue. All the selectedpapers were refereed according to the policy and guidelinesof Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells. I am grateful tothe reviewers for sparing their valuable time and the sincereefforts to maintain the quality of publications. I acknowl-edge the kind help and encouragement of Dr. Greg P.Smestad in bringing out this special issue and the efforts ofthe journal editorial staff at Elsevier. I am grateful to theCentro de Investigacion en Energıa-UNAM for thesupport provided in organizing the symposium and to theinvited speakers and contributors to the technical sessionsfor making this symposium a memorable one.

Xavier MathewCentro de Investigacion en Energıa,

Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico,

62580 Temixco, Morelos, Mexico

E-mail address: xm@cie.unam.mx