Epitaxial Silicon Growth For Solar Cells

This book, a continuation of the series “Advances in Materials Research,” is intended to provide the general basis of the science and technology of crystal growth of silicon for solar cells. In the face of the destruction of the global environment,the degradationofworld-widenaturalresourcesandtheexha- tion of energy sources in the twenty-?rst century, we all have a sincere desire for a better/safer world in the future. In these days, we strongly believe that it is important for us to rapidly developanewenvironment-friendlycleanenergyconversionsystemusingsolar energyastheultimatenaturalenergysource. Forinstance,mostofournatural resources and energy sources will be exhausted within the next 100 years. Speci?cally, the consumption of oil, natural gas, and uranium is a serious problem. Solar energy is the only ultimate natural energy source. Although 30% of total solar energy is re?ected at the earth’s surface, 70% of total solar energy can be available for us to utilize. The available solar energy amounts to severalthousand times larger than the world’s energy consumption in 2000 of about 9,000 Mtoe (M ton oil equivalent). To manage 10% of the world’s energy consumption at 2050 by solar energy, we must manufacture 40 GW solar cells per year continuously for 40 years. The required silicon feedstock is about 400,000 ton per year. We believe that this is an attainable target, since it can be realized by increasing the world production of silicon feedstock by 12times asmuchasthe presentproductionat2005.

Silicon Based Thin Film Solar Cells explains concepts related to technologies for silicon (Si) based photovoltaic applications. Topics in this book focus on ‘new concept’ solar cells. These kinds of cells can make photovoltaic power production an economically viable option in comparison to the bulk crystalline semiconductor technology industry. A transition from bulk crystalline Si solar cells toward thin-film technologies reduces usage of active material and introduces new concepts based on nanotechnologies. Despite its importance, the scientific development and understanding of new solar cells is not very advanced, and educational resources for specialized engineers and scientists are required. This textbook presents the fundamental scientific aspects of Si thin films growth technology, together with a clear understanding of the properties of the material and how this is employed in new generation photovoltaic solar cells. The textbook is a valuable resource for graduate students working on their theses, young researchers and all people approaching problems and fundamental aspects of advanced photovoltaic conversion.

Thin-film solar cells are either emerging or about to emerge from the research laboratory to become commercially available devices finding practical various applications. Currently no textbook outlining the basic theoretical background, methods of fabrication and applications currently exist. Thus, this book aims to present for the first time an in-depth overview of this topic covering a broad range of thin-film solar cell technologies including both organic and inorganic materials, presented in a systematic fashion, by the scientific leaders in the respective domains. It covers a broad range of related topics, from physical principles to design, fabrication, characterization, and applications of novel photovoltaic devices.