Solar cells and their applications

✍ Scribed by Lewis M. Fraas, Larry D. Partain

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 643
• Series: Wiley series in microwave and optical engineering
• Edition: 2
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

A major update of solar cell technology and the solar marketplaceSince the first publication of this important volume over a decade ago, dramatic changes have taken place with the solar market growing almost 100-fold and the U.S. moving from first to fourth place in the world market as analyzed in this Second Edition. Three bold new opportunities are identified for any countries wanting to improve market position. The first is combining pin solar cells with 3X concentration to achieve economic competitiveness near term. The second is charging battery-powered cars with solar cell–generated electricity from arrays in surrounding areas—including the car owners' homes—while simultaneously reducing their home electricity bills by over ninety percent. The third is formation of economic "unions" of sufficient combined economic size to be major competitors.In this updated edition, feed-in tariffs are identified as the most effective approach for public policy. Reasons are provided to explain why pin solar cells outperform more traditional pn solar cells. Field test data are reported for nineteen percent pin solar cells and for ~500X concentrating systems with bare cell efficiencies approaching forty percent. Paths to bare cell efficiencies over fifty percent are described, and key missing program elements are identified. Since government support is needed for new technology prototype integration and qualification testing before manufacturing scale up, the key economic measure is identified in this volume as the electricity cost in cents per kilowatt-hour at the complete installed system level, rather than just the up-front solar cell modules' costs in dollars per watt.This Second Edition will benefit technologists in the fields of solar cells and systems; solar cell researchers; power systems designers; academics studying microelectronics, semiconductors, and solar cells; business students and investors with a technical focus; and government and political officials developing public policy.

✦ Table of Contents

SOLAR CELLS ANDTHEIR APPLICATIONS, Second Edition......Page 1
Contents......Page 7
Preface......Page 11
Contributors......Page 15
PART I: INTRODUCTION TO SOLAR CELLS......Page 17
1: SOLAR CELLS: A BRIEF HISTORY AND INTRODUCTION......Page 19
2: SOLAR CELL ELECTRICITY MARKET HISTORY, PUBLIC POLICY, PROJECTED FUTURE, AND ESTIMATED COSTS......Page 33
3: SOLAR CELLS, SINGLE-CRYSTAL SEMICONDUCTORS, AND HIGH EFFICIENCY......Page 59
4: SOLAR CELL DEVICE PHYSICS......Page 83
PART II: TERRESTRIAL SOLAR CELL ELECTRICITY......Page 127
5: CRYSTALLINE SILICON SOLAR CELLS AND MODULES......Page 129
6: THIN-FILM SOLAR CELLS AND MODULES......Page 153
7: TERRESTRIAL MODULE FABRICATION AND ASSEMBLY TECHNOLOGIES......Page 175
8: CHINESE SOLAR CELL STATUS......Page 187
9: TRACKING THE SUN FOR MORE KILOWATT HOUR AND LOWER-COST SOLAR ELECTRICITY......Page 223
10: SOLAR CELL SYSTEMS: DEFINITION, PERFORMANCE, AND RELIABILITY......Page 235
11: LEVELIZED COST OF ENERGY FOR UTILITY-SCALE PHOTOVOLTAICS......Page 267
PART III: TERRESTRIAL CONCENTRATOR SOLAR CELL SYSTEMS......Page 287
12: LOW-CONCENTRATION CRYSTALLINE SILICON SYSTEMS......Page 289
13: HIGH-CONCENTRATION, III–V MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS......Page 309
14: HIGH-CONCENTRATION FRESNEL LENS ASSEMBLIES AND SYSTEMS......Page 329
15: HIGH-CONCENTRATION CASSEGRAINIAN SOLAR CELL MODULES AND ARRAYS......Page 353
16: CONCENTRATOR SOLAR CELL INSTALLATIONS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, LAS VEGAS......Page 377
17: CONCENTRATOR PHOTOVOLTAIC FIELD INSTALLATIONS......Page 393
PART IV: SOLAR CELLS IN SPACE......Page 411
18: SPACE SOLAR CELLS AND APPLICATIONS......Page 413
PART V: OTHER ASPECTS AND CONSIDERATIONS......Page 441
19: SOLAR RESOURCE FOR SPACE AND TERRESTRIAL APPLICATIONS......Page 443
20: SOLAR ENERGY COSTS: THE SOLAR ADVISOR MODEL......Page 479
21: CHALLENGES OF LARGE-SCALE SOLAR CELL ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION......Page 499
PART VI: THIN FILMS AND X-RAY IMAGER TECHNOLOGIES......Page 513
22: MARKET OVERVIEW OF FLAT PANEL DETECTORS FOR X-RAY IMAGING......Page 515
23: AMORPHOUS SILICON TRANSISTORS AND PHOTODIODES......Page 527
24: AMORPHOUS SILICON DIGITAL X-RAY IMAGING......Page 549
25: PHOTOCONDUCTOR DIGITAL X-RAY IMAGING......Page 575
PART VII: SUMMARY......Page 597
26: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS......Page 599
INDEX......Page 629

✦ Subjects

Топливно-энергетический комплекс;Гелиоэнергетика;