ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION
Empowering Progress
Up to 25% off Essentials Robotics and Automation titles
Solar Cell Device Physics
- 1st Edition - December 2, 2012
- Author: Stephen J. Fonash
- Language: English
- eBook ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 3 2 3 - 1 5 4 6 3 - 5
Solar Cell Device Physics offers a balanced, in-depth qualitative and quantitative treatment of the physical principles and operating characteristics of solar cell devices. Topics… Read more
Purchase options
Institutional subscription on ScienceDirect
Request a sales quoteSolar Cell Device Physics offers a balanced, in-depth qualitative and quantitative treatment of the physical principles and operating characteristics of solar cell devices. Topics covered include photovoltaic energy conversion and solar cell materials and structures, along with homojunction solar cells. Semiconductor-semiconductor heterojunction cells and surface-barrier solar cells are also discussed. This book consists of six chapters and begins by introducing the reader to the basic physical principles and materials properties that are the foundations of photovoltaic energy conversion, with emphasis on various photovoltaic devices capable of efficiently converting solar energy into usable electrical energy. The electronic and optical properties of crystalline, polycrystalline, and amorphous materials with both organic and inorganic materials are considered, together with the manner in which these properties change from one material class to another and the implications of such changes for photovoltaics. Generation, recombination, and bulk transport are also discussed. The two mechanisms of photocarrier collection in solar cells, drift and diffusion, are then compared. The remaining chapters focus on specific solar cell device classes defined in terms of the interface structure employed: homojunctions, semiconductor-semiconductor heterojunctions, and surface-barrier devices. This monograph is appropriate for use as a textbook for graduate students in engineering and the sciences and for seniors in electrical engineering and applied physics, as well as a reference book for those actively involved in solar cell research and development.
Preface
Acknowledgments
List of Basic Symbols
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Photovoltaic Energy Conversion
1.2 Solar Cells and Solar Energy Conversion
1.3 Solar Cell Applications
1.4 General Outline
1.5 Some Comments
References
Chapter 2: Physics and Materials Properties Basic to Photovoltaic Energy Conversion
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Structure of Solids
2.3 Phonon Spectra of Solids
2.4 Electron Energy Levels in Solids
2.5 Optical Properties of Solids
2.6 Recombination, Trapping, and Generation in Solids
2.7 Transport Processes in Solids
2.8 Origins of Photovoltaic Action
2.9 Concluding Remarks
References
Chapter 3: Solar Cell Materials and Structures
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Absorber Materials
3.3 Interfaces
3.4 Interface Types
3.5 Interface Transport Mechanisms
3.6 Interface Configurations Used in Solar Cells
3.7 Barrier Formation—Localized States and Doping
3.8 Optimum Band Gap Selection for the Absorber
3.9 Concluding Remarks
References
Chapter 4: Homojunction Solar Cells
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Homojunction Solar Cell Device Physics
4.3 Homojunction Cell Configurations and Performance
4.4 Notes for the Experimentalist
References
Chapter 5: Semiconductor-Semiconductor Heterojunction Cells
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Heterojunction Solar Cell Device Physics
5.3 S-S and S-I-S Heterojunction Cell Configurations and Performance
5.4 Notes for the Experimentalist
References
Chapter 6: Surface-Barrier Solar Cells
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Surface-Barrier Solar Cell Device Physics
6.3 Surface-Barrier Solar Cell Configurations and Performance
6.4 Notes for the Experimentalist
References
Index
- No. of pages: 352
- Language: English
- Edition: 1
- Published: December 2, 2012
- Imprint: Academic Press
- eBook ISBN: 9780323154635
SF
Stephen J. Fonash
Dr. Stephen Fonash is Bayard D. Kunkle Chair Professor Emeritus of Engineering Sciences at Penn State University and Chief Technology Officer of Solarity LCCM, LLC. His activities at Penn State include serving as the director of Penn State’s Center for Nanotechnology Education and Utilization (CNEU), director of the National Science Foundation Advanced Technology Education Center, and director of the Pennsylvania Nanofabrication Manufacturing Technology Partnership.
Prof. Fonash’s education contributions focus on nanotechnology post-secondary education and workforce development. His research activities encompass the processing and device physics of micro- and nanostructures including solar cells, sensors, and transistors. He has published over 300 refereed papers in the areas of education, nanotechnology, photovoltaics, microelectronics devices and processing, sensors, and thin film transistors. His book “Solar Cell Device Physics” has been termed the “bible of solar cell physics” and his solar cell computer modeling code AMPS is used by almost 800 groups around the world. Dr. Fonash holds 29 patents in his research areas, many of which are licensed to industry. He is on multiple journal boards, serves as an advisor to university and government groups, has consulted for a variety of firms, and has co-founded two companies. Prof. Fonash received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and a Fellow of the Electrochemical Society
Affiliations and expertise
Kunkle Chair Professor of Engineering Sciences and Director, Center for Nanotechnology Education and Utilization, The Pennsylvania State University, USARead Solar Cell Device Physics on ScienceDirect