| AES | Auger electron spectroscopy |
| AFM | Atomic force microscopy |
| AM | Air mass |
| ARPES | Angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy |
| ASTM | American Society of Testing and Materials |
| C-V | Capacitance-voltage |
| CCD | Charge-coupled device |
| CIGS | Copper indium gallium diselenide |
| CIS | Copper indium diselenide |
| CL | Cathodoluminescence |
| CRT | Cathode ray tube |
| DLTS | Deep-level transient spectroscopy |
| DSIMS | Dynamic secondary-ion mass spectrometry |
| EBIC | Electron-beam induced current |
| EBIV | Electron-beam induced voltage |
| EDBS | Electron back-scattered diffraction |
| EDS | Energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry |
| EPMA | Electron probe microanalysis |
| ESF | Extrinsic stacking fault |
| FF | Fill factor |
| FS | Femtosecond spectroscopy |
| FTIR | Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy |
| FWHM | Full width at half maximum |
| HIPSS | High-intensity pulsed solar simulator |
| HRTEM | High-resolution transmission electron microscopy |
| I-V | Current-voltage |
| IEC | International Electrotechnical Commission |
| Imax | Current at maximum power |
| IR | Infrared |
| Isc | Short-circuit current |
| ISF | Intrinsic stacking fault |
| ISS | Ion scattering spectroscopy |
| Jsc | Short-circuit current density |
| LACSS | Large-area continuous solar simulator |
| LAPSS | Large-area pulsed solar simulator |
| LSLS | Large-scale laser scanner |
| MCLS | Minority-carrier lifetime spectroscopy |
| NIST | National Institute of Standards and Technology |
| NOBIC | Near-field optical-beam-induced current |
| NSOM | Near-field scanning optical microscopy |
| PL | Photoluminescence |
| Pmax | Maximum power output |
| PV | Photovoltaic |
| QE | Quantum efficiency |
| SAM | Scanning Auger microscopy |
| SDMS | Scanning defect mapping system |
| SE | Scanning ellipsometry |
| SEM | Scanning electron microscope |
| SIMS | Secondary-ion mass spectrometry |
| SOMS | Standard outdoor measurement system |
| SR | Spectral response |
| SRCL | Spectrally resolved cathodoluminescence |
| SSIMS | Static secondary-ion mass spectrometry |
| STEM | Scanning transmission electron microscopy |
| STM | Scanning tunneling microscopy |
| TEM | Transmission electron microscopy |
| TOF | Time of flight |
| TPV | Thermophotovoltaic |
| TRPL | Time-resolved photoluminescence |
| UHFPCD | Ultra-high-frequency photoconductive decay |
| UV | Ultraviolet |
| Vmax | Voltage at maximum power |
| Voc | Open-circuit voltage |
| WDS | Wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectrometry |
| XRD | X-ray diffraction |
| XPS | X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy |
