Photovoltaic Solar Energy From Fundamentals to Applications

Solar PV is now the third most important renewable energy source, after hydro and wind power, in terms of global installed capacity. Bringing together the expertise of international PV specialists Photovoltaic Solar Energy: From Fundamentals to Applications provides a comprehensive and up-to-date account of existing PV technologies in conjunction with an assessment of technological developments.

Key features:

• Written by leading specialists active in concurrent developments in material sciences, solar cell research and application-driven R&D.
• Provides a basic knowledge base in light, photons and solar irradiance and basic functional principles of PV.
• Covers characterization techniques, economics and applications of PV such as silicon, thin-film and hybrid solar cells.
• Presents a compendium of PV technologies including: crystalline silicon technologies; chalcogenide thin film solar cells; thin-film silicon based PV technologies; organic PV and III-Vs; PV concentrator technologies; space technologies and economics, life-cycle and user aspects of PV technologies.
• Each chapter presents basic principles and formulas as well as major technological developments in a contemporary context with a look at future developments in this rapidly changing field of science and engineering.

Ideal for industrial engineers and scientists beginning careers in PV as well as graduate students undertaking PV research and high-level undergraduate students.

Prof Angèle Reinders, University of Twente, The Netherlands
Angèle Reinders is currently an associate professor of Sustainable Energy at the University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands, and visiting professor of Energy-Efficient Design at TU Delft, The Netherlands

Dr Pierre Verlinden, Trina Solar, China  
Pierre Verlinden is Vice-President and Chief Scientist at Trina Solar , and adjunct professor at Sun-Yat sen University, Guangzhou, China.

Prof Wilfried van Sark, Utrecht University, The Netherlands 
Wilfried van Sark is an associate professor at Utrecht University, The Netherlands.

Prof Alexandre Freundlich, University of Houston, USA 
Alexandre Freundlich is a research professor of physics and electrical and computer engineering at the University of Houston.

List of Contributors xxvii

Foreword xxxii

Acknowledgments xxxiv

About the Companion Website xxxv

Part One INTRODUCTION TO PHOTOVOLTAICS 1

1.1 Introduction 3
Angèle Reinders, Wilfried van Sark, and Pierre Verlinden

List of Symbols 11

Constants 11

List of Acronyms 11

References 11

Part Two BASIC FUNCTIONAL PRINCIPLES OF PHOTOVOLTAICS 13

2.1 Semiconductor Materials and their Properties 15
Angèle Reinders

List of Symbols 19

List of Acronyms 19

References 20

2.2 Doping, Diffusion, and Defects in Solar Cells 21
Pierre J. Verlinden

List of Symbols 31

List of Acronyms 31

References 31

2.3 Absorption and Generation 32
Seth Hubbard

References 38

2.4 Recombination 39
Seth Hubbard

References 46

2.5 Carrier Transport 47
Seth Hubbard

References 53

2.6 PN Junctions and the Diode Equation 54
Seth Hubbard

Acknowledgments 63

List of Symbols 63

List of Acronyms 65

References 66

Part Three CRYSTALLINE SILICON TECHNOLOGIES 67

3.1 Silicon Materials: Electrical and Optical Properties 69
Andreas Fell

List of Symbols 77

List of Acronyms 77

References 78

3.2 Silicon Solar Cell Device Structures 80
Andrew Blakers and Ngwe Zin

References 90

3.3 Interdigitated Back Contact Solar Cells 92
Pierre Verlinden

3.4 Heterojunction Silicon Solar Cells 104
Wilfried van Sark

List of Symbols 110

List of Acronyms 111

References 112

3.5 Surface Passivation and Emitter Recombination Parameters 114
Bram Hoex

List of Symbols 121

List of Acronyms 122

References 122

3.6 Passivated Contacts 125
Martin Hermle

List of Symbols 133

List of Acronyms 133

References 134

3.7 Light Management in Silicon Solar Cells 136
Zachary Holman and Mathieu Boccard

List of Symbols 147

List of Acronyms 148

References 149

3.8 Numerical Simulation of Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells 150
Pietro Altermatt

References 158

3.9 Advanced Concepts 160
Martin Green

List of Acronyms 166

References 166

Part Four CHALCOGENIDE THIN FILM SOLAR CELLS 167

4.1 Basics of Chalcogenide Thin Film Solar Cells 169
Susanne Siebentritt

List of Symbols 176

List of Acronyms 176

References 176

4.2 Cu(In,Ga)Se2 and CdTe Absorber Materials and their Properties 179
Sylvain Marsillac

List of Symbols 187

List of Acronyms 187

References 188

4.3 Contacts, Buffers, Substrates, and Interfaces 190
Negar Naghavi

List of Acronyms 200

References 200

4.4 CIGS Module Design and Manufacturing 204
William Shafarman

List of Acronyms 211

References 211

Part Five THIN FILM SILICON‐BASED PV TECHNOLOGIES 213

5.1 Amorphous and Nanocrystalline Silicon Solar Cells 215
Etienne Moulin, Jan‐Willem Schüttauf, and Christophe Ballif

List of Symbols 223

References 224

5.2 Thin Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells on Glass 226
Onno Gabriel, Daniel Amkreutz, Jan Haschke, Bernd Rech, and Rutger Schlatmann

Acknowledgments 235

List of Symbols and Acronyms 235

References 236

5.3 Light Management in Crystalline and Thin Film Silicon Solar Cells 238
Franz Haug

List of Symbols 244

List of Acronyms 245

References 245

5.4 New Future Concepts 248
Jan‐Willem Schüttauf, Etienne Moulin, and Christophe Ballif

List of Symbols 253

References 253

Part Six ORGANIC PHOTOVOLTAICS 255

6.1 Solid‐State Organic Photovoltaics 257
Bernard Kippelen

Acknowledgments 265

Acronyms 265

References 265

6.2 Hybrid and Dye‐Sensitized Solar Cells 267
Woojun Yoon

References 275

6.3 Perovskite Solar Cells 277
Samuel D. Stranks and Henry J. Snaith

References 289

6.4 Organic PV Module Design and Manufacturing 292
Veronique S. Gevaerts

List of Acronyms 301

References 302

Part Seven CHARACTERIZATION AND MEASUREMENTS METHODS 303

7.1 Methods and Instruments for the Characterization of Solar Cells 305
Halden Field

List of Symbols 320

List of Acronyms 320

References 320

7.2 Photoluminescence and Electroluminescence Characterization in Silicon Photovoltaics 322
Thorsten Trupke

Acknowledgments 334

List of Symbols 334

List of Acronyms 335

References 335

7.3 Measurement of Carrier Lifetime, Surface Recombination Velocity , and Emitter Recombination Parameters 339
Henner Kampwerth

List of Symbols 347

List of Acronyms 348

References 348

7.4 In‐situ Measurements, Process Control, and Defect Monitoring 350
Angus Rockett

List of Acronyms 360

References 360

7.5 PV Module Performance Testing and Standards 362
Geoffrey S. Kinsey

List of Symbols 368

List of Acronyms 368

References 369

Part Eight III‐Vs AND PV CONCENTRATOR TECHNOLOGIES 371

8.1 III‐V Solar Cells – Materials, Multi‐Junction Cells – Cell Design and Performance 373
Frank Dimroth

Acknowledgments 380

List of Acronyms 380

References 380

8.2 New and Future III‐V Cells and Concepts 383
Simon Fafard

List of Acronyms and Symbols 393

References 393

8.3 High Concentration PV Systems 396
Karin Hinzer, Christopher E. Valdivia, and John P.D. Cook

List of Acronyms 408

References 409

8.4 Operation of CPV Power Plants: Energy Prediction 411
Geoffrey S. Kinsey

List of Acronyms 418

References 418

8.5 The Luminescent Solar Concentrator (LSC) 420
Michael Debije

List of Symbols 428

List of Acronyms 428

References 429

Part Nine SPACE TECHNOLOGIES 431

9.1 Materials, Cell Structures, and Radiation Effects 433
Rob Walters

List of Symbols and Units 442

References 442

9.2 Space PV Systems and Flight Demonstrations 444
Phillip Jenkins

Acknowledgments 453

List of Acronyms 453

References 454

9.3 A Vision on Future Developments in Space Photovoltaics 455
David Wilt

List of Symbols 461

List of Acronyms 461

References 462

Part Ten PV MODULES AND MANUFACTURING 463

10.1 Manufacturing of Various PV Technologies 465
Alison Lennon and Rhett Evans

Acknowledgements 474

List of Abbreviations 474

References 474

10.2 Encapsulant Materials for PV Modules 478
Michael Kempe

Acknowledgments 488

List of Symbols 488

List of Acronyms 488

References 489

10.3 Reliability and Durability of PV Modules 491
Sarah Kurtz

Acknowledgments 500

References 501

10.4 Advanced Module Concepts 502
Pierre Verlinden

List of Symbols 508

List of Acronyms 508

References 509

Part Eleven PV SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS 511

11.1 Grid-Connected PV Systems 513
Greg J. Ball

Acknowledgments 527

List of Acronyms 528

References 529

11.2 Inverters, Power Optimizers, and Microinverters 530
Chris Deline

List of Symbols 537

List of Acronyms 537

References 538

11.3 Stand-Alone and Hybrid PV Systems 539
Matthias Vetter and Georg Bopp

References 552

11.4 PV System Monitoring and Characterization 553
Wilfried van Sark, Atse Louwen, Odysseas Tsafarakis, and Panos Moraitis

Acknowledgments 561

List of Symbols 561

List of Acronyms 562

References 562

11.5 Energy Prediction and System Modeling 564
Joshua S. Stein

List of Symbols and Acronyms 575

References 577

11.6 Building Integrated Photovoltaics 579
Michiel Ritzen, Zeger Vroon, and Chris Geurts

List of Acronyms 588

References 588

11.7 Product Integrated Photovoltaics 590
Angèle Reinders and Georgia Apostolou

List of Acronym 598

References 598

Part Twelve PV DEPLOYMENT IN DISTRIBUTION GRIDS 601

12.1 PV Systems in Smart Energy Homes: PowerMatching City 603
Albert van den Noort

List of Acronyms 610

References 611

12.2 New Future Solutions: Best Practices from European PV Smart Grid Projects 612
Gianluca Fulli and Flavia Gangale

List of Acronyms 619

References 619

Part Thirteen SUPPORTING METHODS AND TOOLS 621

13.1 The Economics of PV Systems 623
Matthew Campbell

List of Acronyms 633

References 633

13.2 People’s Involvement in Residential PV and their Experiences 634
Barbara van Mierlo

References 644

13.3 Life Cycle Assessment of Photovoltaics 646
Vasilis Fthenakis

References 656

13.4 List of International Standards Related to PV 658
Pierre Verlinden and Wilfried van Sark

Acknowledgements 671

References 671

Index 672

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