Photovoltaic Solar Energy Thoroughly updated overview of photovoltaic technology, from materials to modules and systems Volume 2 of Photovoltaic Solar Energy provides fundamental and contemporary knowledge about various photovoltaic technologies in the framework of material science, device physics of solar cells, chemistry for manufacturing, engineering of PV modules, and the design aspects of photovoltaic applications, with the aim of informing the reader about the basic knowledge of each aspect of photovoltaic technologies and applications in the context of the most recent advances in science and engineering. The text is written by leading specialists for each topic in a concise manner and includes the most recent references for deeper study. Moreover, the book gives insights into possible future developments in the field of photovoltaics. The book builds on the success of Volume 1 of Photovoltaic Solar Energy, which was published by Wiley in January 2017. As science and technology is progressing fast in some areas of photovoltaics, several topics needed to be readdressed. Volume 2 also covers some basic aspects of the subject that were not addressed in Volume 1. Sample topics covered in Photovoltaic Solar Energy include: Solar Irradiance Resources Crystalline Silicon Technologies (Cz Ingots, TOPCon, Heterojunction, Passivating contacts, Hydrogenation and Carrier Induced Degradation) Perovskite and Tandem solar cells Characterization and Measurements PV Modules PV Systems and Applications (integration in buildings, agriculture, water, vehicles) Sustainability Providing comprehensive coverage of the subject, Photovoltaic Solar Energy is an essential resource for undergraduate and graduate students in science or engineering, young professionals in PV research or the PV industry, professors, teachers, and PV specialists who want to receive updated information. A scientific or engineering degree is a prerequisite.

Lifetime spectroscopy is one of the most sensitive diagnostic tools for the identification and analysis of impurities in semiconductors. Since it is based on the recombination process, it provides insight into precisely those defects that are relevant to semiconductor devices such as solar cells. This book introduces a transparent modeling procedure that allows a detailed theoretical evaluation of the spectroscopic potential of the different lifetime spectroscopic techniques. The various theoretical predictions are verified experimentally with the context of a comprehensive study on different metal impurities. The quality and consistency of the spectroscopic results, as explained here, confirms the excellent performance of lifetime spectroscopy.

Silicon, as a single-crystal semiconductor, has sparked a revolution in the field of electronics and touched nearly every field of science and technology. Though available abundantly as silica and in various other forms in nature, silicon is difficult to separate from its chemical compounds because of its reactivity. As a solid, silicon is chemically inert and stable, but growing it as a single crystal creates many technological challenges. Crystal Growth and Evaluation of Silicon for VLSI and ULSI is one of the first books to cover the systematic growth of silicon single crystals and the complete evaluation of silicon, from sand to useful wafers for device fabrication. Written for engineers and researchers working in semiconductor fabrication industries, this practical text: Describes different techniques used to grow silicon single crystals Explains how grown single-crystal ingots become a complete silicon wafer for integrated-circuit fabrication Reviews different methods to evaluate silicon wafers to determine suitability for device applications Analyzes silicon wafers in terms of resistivity and impurity concentration mapping Examines the effect of intentional and unintentional impurities Explores the defects found in regular silicon-crystal lattice Discusses silicon wafer preparation for VLSI and ULSI processing Crystal Growth and Evaluation of Silicon for VLSI and ULSI is an essential reference for different approaches to the selection of the basic silicon-containing compound, separation of silicon as metallurgical-grade pure silicon, subsequent purification, single-crystal growth, and defects and evaluation of the deviations within the grown crystals.

The world of today must face up to two contradictory energy problems: on the one hand, there is the sharply growing consumer demand in countries such as China and India. On the other hand, natural resources are dwindling. Moreover, many of those countries which still possess substantial gas and oil supplies are politically unstable. As a result, renewable natural energy sources have received great attention. Among these, solar-cell technology is one of the most promising candidates. However, there still remains the problem of the manufacturing costs of such cells. Many attempts have been made to reduce the production costs of “conventional” solar cells (manufactured from monocrystalline silicon using diffusion methods) by instead using cheaper grades of silicon, and simpler pn-junction fabrication. That is the ‘hero’ of this book; the heterojunction solar cell.

A unique and well-organized reference, this book provides illuminating data, distinctive insight and expert guidance on silicon properties.

Silicon on Insulator is more than a technology, more than a job, and more than a venture in microelectronics; it is something different and refreshing in device physics. This book recalls the activity and enthu siasm of our SOl groups. Many contributing students have since then disappeared from the SOl horizon. Some of them believed that SOl was the great love of their scientific lives; others just considered SOl as a fantastic LEGO game for adults. We thank them all for kindly letting us imagine that we were guiding them. This book was very necessary to many people. SOl engineers will certainly be happy: indeed, if the performance of their SOl components is not always outstanding, they can now safely incriminate the relations given in the book rather than their process. Martine, Gunter, and Y. S. Chang can contemplate at last the amount of work they did with the figures. Our SOl accomplices already know how much we borrowed from their expertise and would find it indecent to have their detailed contri butions listed. Jean-Pierre and Dimitris incited the book, while sharing their experience in the reliability of floating bodies. Our families and friends now realize the SOl capability of dielectrically isolating us for about two years in a BOX. Our kids encouraged us to start writing. Our wives definitely gave us the courage to stop writing. They had a hard time fighting the symptoms of a rapidly developing SOl allergy.

This book emphasizes the importance of the fascinating atomistic insights into the defects and the impurities as well as the dynamic behaviors in silicon materials, which have become more directly accessible over the past 20 years. Such progress has been made possible by newly developed experimental methods, first principle theories, and computer simulation techniques. The book is aimed at young researchers, scientists, and technicians in related industries. The main purposes are to provide readers with 1) the basic physics behind defects in silicon materials, 2) the atomistic modeling as well as the characterization techniques related to defects and impurities in silicon materials, and 3) an overview of the wide range of the research fields involved.