Introduction to Solar Cells

About the Authors xi
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xvii
Symbols and Abbreviations xix
About the Companion Website xxv

1 Introduction and Motivation 1
1.1 About the Chapter 1
1.2 The Greenhouse Effect 1
1.3 Climate Change 3
1.4 Solar Energy 5
1.5 Energy Independence 7
1.6 Brief History of Solar Energy and Photovoltaics 10
1.7 Current Solar Cell Technologies 10
1.8 Chapter Summary 11

2 Physics of Light 17
2.1 About the Chapter 17
2.2 The Solar Radiation 18
2.3 Quantum Efficiency and Photogenerated Current 21
2.4 Optical Properties of Materials 26
2.5 Reflectance, Transmittance, and Absorption 28
2.6 Multilayer Propagation with Absorption 39
2.7 Chapter Summary 40

3 Physics of Semiconductors 49
3.1 About the Chapter 49
3.2 Energy Bands 50
3.3 Charge Carriers in Semiconductors 52
3.4 Carrier Concentrations 56
3.5 Carrier Drift 64
3.6 Excess Carriers 72
3.7 Diffusion 77
3.8 Chapter Summary 82

4 Physics of the PN Junction 87
4.1 About the Chapter 87
4.2 pn Junction 87
4.3 Junction Electrostatics 96
4.4 pn Junction with Applied Voltage 103
4.5 Nonideal Diode 111
4.6 Chapter Summary 117

5 Physics of Solar Cells 123
5.1 About the Chapter 123
5.2 Photodiode Physics 123
5.3 Open-Circuit Voltage and Short-Circuit Current 129
5.4 Power Max and Fill Factor 132
5.5 Efficiency 135
5.6 Chapter Summary 140

6 Solar Cell Design 147
6.1 About the Chapter 147
6.2 Solar Cell Cross Section 147
6.3 Absorber Layer 149
6.4 Emitter 153
6.5 Anti-Reflective Coatings 155
6.6 Finger Contacts 157
6.7 Novel Design Methods 160
6.8 Chapter Summary 161

7 Efficiency Enhancement Techniques 165
7.1 About the Chapter 165
7.2 Light Management 165
7.3 Tandem and Multi-Junction Cells 168
7.4 Emerging Photovoltaic Technologies-Beyond Silicon 172
7.5 Chapter Summary 177
End-of-Chapter Problems 178
Conceptual Questions 178
True or False 178
Multiple Choice Questions 179
Numerical Problems 180
References 180

Appendix A List of Equations 183
Appendix B Physical Constants, Unit Conversions, and Parameters 189
Appendix C Key Charts and Graphs 191

Glossary 199
Index 207