Solar Cell Device Physics

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 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