Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cells -

Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cells

Arvind Victor Shah (Herausgeber)

Buch | Hardcover
440 Seiten
2021
Crc Press Inc (Verlag)
978-1-4200-6674-6 (ISBN)
149,60 inkl. MwSt
Gives a treatment of thin-film silicon as a novel semiconductor material. Beginning with fundamental physical properties, this work focuses on device applications, solar cells in particular. Intended for students and professional scientists, it also discusses the limitations and design optimization of the devices, as well as fabrication methods.
Photovoltaic technology has now developed to the extent that it is close to fulfilling the vision of a "solar-energy world," as devices based on this technology are becoming efficient, low-cost and durable. This book provides a comprehensive treatment of thin-film silicon, a prevalent PV material, in terms of its semiconductor nature, starting out with the physical properties, but concentrating on device applications. A special emphasis is given to amorphous silicon and microcrystalline silicon as photovoltaic materials, along with a model that allows these systems to be physically described in the simplest manner possible, thus allowing the student or scientist/engineer entering the field of thin-film electronics to master a few basic concepts that are distinct from those in the field of conventional semiconductors. The main part of the book deals with solar cells and modules by illustrating the basic functioning of these devices, along with their limitations, design optimization, testing and fabrication methods. Among the manufacturing processes discussed are plasma-assisted and hot-wire deposition, sputtering, and structuring techniques.

Arvind V. Shah studied in Bombay, London and Zürich, receiving his Ph.D. in Applied Physics in 1968 from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH). He worked at the ETH until founding the Centre for Electronics Design and Technology (CEDT) at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India, in 1975. In March 1979, he was appointed professor of electronics at the University of Neuchâtel, and in 1988 began a concurrent, part-time appointment at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). He is founder of Thin-film and Photovoltaics Laboratory at IMT Neuchâtel where he was involved with the invention of VHF plasma deposition and the pioneering work with microcrystalline silicon and “micromorph” tandem solar cells. Since 2000, he has been involved in the successful industrial transfer of technology, negotiating major licensing agreements both to start-up and established companies.

Introduction; Christophe Ballif


Explaining the role of thin-film silicon within PV today and tomorrow


Basic Properties of amorphous silicon (a-Si); Arvind Shah and Wolfhard Beyer


Structure of amorphous silicon


"Free" and "trapped" carriers (electrons and holes), mobility gap


Gap states


Optical absorption; optical gap and sub-bandgap absorption


Transport, conductivity and recombination


Doping of amorphous silicon layers


Hydrogen in amorphous silicon layers; Wolfhard Beyer


Alloys (with Germanium and Carbon); Wolfhard Beyer


Conclusions


Basic properties of hydrogenated µc-Si:H; Friedhelm Finger


History


Structural properties of µc-Si:H


Optical properties


Electrical properties and transport


Metastabilty -- Instabilty


Comparison with amorphous silicon


Alloys (ongoing research work)


Conclusions


Theory of solar cell devices; Arvind Shah, Corinne Droz and Martin Python


Conversion of light into electrical carriers by a semi-conductor diode


The "pn-type" or "classical" diode: Dark characteristics


The "pn-type" or "classical" diode: Properties under illumination


Limits on solar cell efficiency η


The "pin-type" diode


Summary and conclusions of theoretical part


Tandem and multi-junction solar cells; Martin Python and Arvind Shah


Introduction; general concept


Principle of two-terminal tandem cell


Practical problems of two-terminal tandem cells


Typical tandem and multi-junction cells


Spectral response (SR) and External Quantum Efficiency (EQE) measurements


Conclusions


Module Fabrication and Performance; Horst Schade and Jean-Eric Bourée


Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD)


Hot Wire chemical vapour deposition (HWCVD)


Doped layers


Transparent conductive oxides (TCO) as contact layers


Laser scribing and series connection of cells


Module performance


Module finishing


Conclusions


Application Examples of Solar Cells; Various contributors, edited by Horst Schade and Arvind Shah


Building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) - aspects and examples


Stand-alone and portable applications (Oppizzi)


Indoor applications of a-Si solar cells; J. Randall


Space Applications; N. Wyrsch


Conclusions


Large-area thin-film Electronics; Nicolas Wyrsch


Thin-film transistors (TFTs) and Display Technology


Large-area imagers


Thin-film sensors on C-MOS Chips (Light imagers, Particle sensors, particle imagers)


Conclusions

Erscheint lt. Verlag 15.4.2021
Verlagsort Bosa Roca
Sprache englisch
Maße 156 x 235 mm
Gewicht 1021 g
Themenwelt Naturwissenschaften Physik / Astronomie Elektrodynamik
ISBN-10 1-4200-6674-9 / 1420066749
ISBN-13 978-1-4200-6674-6 / 9781420066746
Zustand Neuware
Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt?
Mehr entdecken
aus dem Bereich
Theoretische Physik II

von Peter Reineker; Michael Schulz; Beatrix M. Schulz …

Buch | Softcover (2022)
Wiley-VCH (Verlag)
54,90