A Science Mapping Analysis of Computational Methods and Exploration of Electrical Transport Studies in Solar Cells

Highlights: What are the main findings? This study identifies the leading contributors, collaboration networks, and emerging research directions. The most important keywords in the field of solar cells are identified. Band gap engineering is necessary for optimal device performance. What are the implications of the main findings? This study found a structured framework for identifying research trends and knowledge gaps. It highlights the need for careful calibration of the charge transport interface. It reveals modeling gaps and proposes multiphysics strategies and 3D models. This study investigates the state of the art related to the computational methods for solar cells. Numerical modeling is a basic pillar that is used to ensure the robust design of any device. In this paper, the results of a detailed science mapping-based analysis on the publications that focus on the “numerical modelling of solar cells” are presented. The query was conducted on the Web of Science for 2014–2024, and a subsequent filtering was performed. The results of this analysis provided the answers to the five research questions posed. The paper has been divided into two parts. In the first part, the literature search began with a broad examination, and 3259 studies were included in the analysis. To present the results in a visual form, graphs created using VOS viewer software have been used to identify the pattern of co-authorship, the geographical distribution of the authors, and the keywords most frequently used. In the second part, the analysis focused on three main aspects: (i) the influence of absorber layer thickness on optical absorption and device efficiency, (ii) the role of different ETL/HTL materials in charge transport, and (iii) the effect of illumination conditions on carrier dynamics and photovoltaic performance. By integrating the results across these dimensions, the study provides a comprehensive understanding of how these parameters collectively determine the efficiency and reliability of perovskite solar cells.