Herein we present the latest fabrication and characterization techniques for atomic layer deposition of Al2O3, ZnO, SnO2, Nb2O5, HfO2, Ga2O3 and TiO2 for research on dye-sensitized solar cell. In particular, we review the fabrication of state-of-the-art 3D host-passivation-guest photoanodes and ZnO nanowires as well as characterize the deposited thin films using spectroscopic ellipsometry, X-ray diffraction, Hall effect, J-V curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.