Recent Developments In Photovoltaic Materials And Devices

This book covers the recent advances in solar photovoltaic materials and their innovative applications. Many problems in material science are explored for enhancing the understanding of solar cells and the development of more efficient, less costly, and more stable cells. This book is crucial and relevant at this juncture and provides a historical overview focusing primarily on the exciting developments in the last decade. This book primarily covers the different Maximum Power Point Tracking control techniques that have led to the improved speed of response of solar photovoltaics, augmented search accuracy, and superior control in the presence of perturbations such as sudden variations in illumination and temperature. Furthermore, the optimal design of a photovoltaic system based on two different approaches such as consumed power and economics is discussed.

This book covers the recent advances in solar photovoltaic materials and their innovative applications. Many problems in material science are explored for enhancing the understanding of solar cells and the development of more efficient, less costly, and more stable cells. This book is crucial and relevant at this juncture and provides a historical overview focusing primarily on the exciting developments in the last decade. This book primarily covers the different Maximum Power Point Tracking control techniques that have led to the improved speed of response of solar photovoltaics, augmented search accuracy, and superior control in the presence of perturbations such as sudden variations in illumination and temperature. Furthermore, the optimal design of a photovoltaic system based on two different approaches such as consumed power and economics is discussed.

This book covers the recent advances in photovoltaics materials and their innovative applications. Many materials science problems are encountered in understanding existing solar cells and the development of more efficient, less costly, and more stable cells. This important and timely book provides a historical overview, but concentrates primarily on the exciting developments in the last decade. It includes organic and perovskite solar cells, photovoltaics in ferroelectric materials, organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite, materials with improved photovoltaic efficiencies as well as the full range of semiconductor materials for solar-to-electricity conversion, from crystalline silicon and amorphous silicon to cadmium telluride, copper indium gallium sulfide selenides, dye sensitized solar cells, organic solar cells, and environmentally-friendly copper zinc tin sulfide selenides.

Given the state-of-the-art in solar photovoltaic (PV) technology and favorable financing terms, it is clear that PV has already obtained grid parity in specific locations [1]. Advances in the next generation of photovoltaic materials and photovoltaic devices can further reduce costs to enable all of humanity to utilize sustainable and renewable solar power [2]. This Special Issue of Materials will cover such materials, including modeling, synthesis, and evaluation of new materials and their solar cells. Specifically, this Special Issue will focus on five material technologies for advanced solar cells:1. New Concepts in PV Materials: Nanostructured materials, low-dimensional physics, multiple charge generation, up/down converters, thermophotovoltaics, low-cost III-V materials, bandgap engineering, hot-carrier effects, plasmonics, metamorphic materials, perovskite and related novel PV materials, novel light trapping, rectennas, quantum dots, carbon nanotubes, and graphene composites. 2. Organic PV Materials: Polymer, hybrid and dye sensitized solar cells, high performance contacts, and lifetime degradation and mechanisms. 3. Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSCs) Materials: Recent developments in dyes, working electrodes, technologies for device fabrications, and advances in new electrolytes. 4. Amorphous, Nanostructured, and Thin Film Silicon PV Materials: Microstructure characterization, light induced degradation (SWE), large area and high deposition rates, novel processing routes, light trapping, multi-layers, and multi-junction devices. 5. Passive Materials for all PV: Transparent conductive oxides (TCOs), encapsulation, connections, optics, glass, anti-reflection coatings (ARCs), alternative buffer layer materials, and contacts

This book presents a comparison of solar cell materials, including both new materials based on organics, nanostructures and novel inorganics and developments in more traditional photovoltaic materials. It surveys the materials and materials trends in the field including third generation solar cells (multiple energy level cells, thermal approaches and the modification of the solar spectrum) with an eye firmly on low costs, energy efficiency and the use of abundant non-toxic materials.

Research and development of photovoltaic solar cells is playing an ever larger practical role in energy supply and ecological conservation all over the world. Many materials science problems are encountered in understanding existing solar cells and the development of more efficient, less costly, and more stable cells. This important and timely book provides a historical overview, but concentrates primarily on exciting developments in the last decade. It describes the properties of the materials that play an important role in photovoltaic applications, the solar cell structures in which they are used, and the experimental and theoretical developments that have led to the most promising contenders./a

A bird's-eye view of the developmental trends and problems of recent photovoltaics is presented. The worldwide effort to develop high-efficiency low-cost PV modules, making use of most efficient solar cells and clever low-cost solar concentrators is described.

Providing complementary viewpoints from academia as well as technology companies, this book covers the three most important aspects of successful device design: materials, device physics, and manufacturing technologies. It also offers an insight into commercialization concerns, such as packaging technologies, system integration, reel-to-reel large scale manufacturing issues and production costs. With an introduction by Nobel Laureate Alan Heeger.