The MRS Symposium Proceeding series is an internationally recognised reference suitable for researchers and practitioners.

Thin-film compound semiconductor photovoltaic solar cells have demonstrated efficiencies of nearly 20% and are leading candidates to provide lower-cost energy due to potential advantages in manufacturing and materials costs. To fulfill the promise, a number of technical issues are being addressed, including a lack of fundamental understanding of these unique materials, devices and processes for large-area deposition. This book focuses on advances in the materials science, chemistry, processing and device issues of thin-film compound semiconductor materials that are used, or have potential use, in photovoltaic solar cells and related applications. Topics include: growth and performance of compound thin-film solar cells; novel materials and processes; defects and impurities; industrial perspectives; contacts and interfaces; grain boundaries and inhomogeneities; and structural, optical and electronic characterization.

PHYSICS OF THIN-FILM PHOTOVOLTAICS Tackling one of the hottest topics in renewables, thin-film photovoltaics, the authors present the latest updates, technologies, and applications, offering the most up-to-date and thorough coverage available to the engineer, scientist, or student. It appears rather paradoxical that thin-film photovoltaics (PVs) are made of materials that seem unacceptable from the classical PV perspective, and yet they often outperform classical PV. This exciting new volume solves that paradox by switching to a new physics paradigm. Many concepts here fall beyond the classical PV scope. The differences lie in device thinness (microns instead of millimeters) and morphology (non-crystalline instead of crystalline). In such structures, the charge carriers can reach electrodes without recombination. On the other hand, thin disordered structures render a possibility of detrimental lateral nonuniformities (“recombination highways”), and their energy spectra give rise to new recombination modes. The mechanisms of thermal exchange and device degradation are correspondingly unique. The overall objective of this book is to give a self-contained in-depth discussion of the physics of thin-film systems in a manner accessible to both researchers and students. It covers most aspects of the physics of thin-film PV, including device operations, material structure and parameters, thin-film junction formation, analytical and numerical modeling, concepts of large area effects and lateral non-uniformities, physics of shunting (both shunt growth and effects), and device degradation. Also, it reviews a variety of physical diagnostic techniques proven with thin-film PV. Whether for the veteran engineer or the student, this is a must-have for any library. This outstanding new volume: Covers not only the state-of-the-art of thin-film photovoltaics, but also the basics, making this volume useful not just to the veteran engineer, but the new-hire or student as well Offers a comprehensive coverage of thin-film photovoltaics, including operations, modeling, non-uniformities, piezo-effects, and degradation Includes novel concepts and applications never presented in book format before Is an essential reference, not just for the engineer, scientist, and student, but the unassuming level of presentation also makes it accessible to readers with a limited physics background Is filled with workable examples and designs that are helpful for practical applications Is useful as a textbook for researchers, students, and faculty for understanding new ideas in this rapidly emerging field Audience: Industrial professionals in photovoltaics, such as engineers, managers, research and development staff, technicians, government and private research labs; also academic and research universities, such as physics, chemistry, and electrical engineering departments, and graduate and undergraduate students studying electronic devices, semiconductors, and energy disciplines

Spectroscopic ellipsometry has been applied to a wide variety of material and device characterizations in solar cell research fields. In particular, device performance analyses using exact optical constants of component layers and direct analyses of complex solar cell structures are unique features of advanced ellipsometry methods. This second volume of Spectroscopic Ellipsometry for Photovoltaics presents various applications of the ellipsometry technique for device analyses, including optical/recombination loss analyses, real-time control and on-line monitoring of solar cell structures, and large-area structural mapping. Furthermore, this book describes the optical constants of 148 solar cell component layers, covering a broad range of materials from semiconductor light absorbers (inorganic, organic and hybrid perovskite semiconductors) to transparent conductive oxides and metals. The tabulated and completely parameterized optical constants described in this book are the most current resource that is vital for device simulations and solar cell structural analyses.

This handbook opens with an overview of solar radiation and how its energy can be tapped using photovoltaic cells. Other chapters cover the technology, manufacture and application of PV cells in real situations. The book ends by exploring the economic and business aspects of PV systems.

The MRS Symposium Proceeding series is an internationally recognised reference suitable for researchers and practitioners.