Handbook of the Physics of Thin-Film Solar Cells

This handbook is a compendium giving a comprehensive description of the basics of semiconductor physics relevant to the design and analysis of thin film solar cell materials. It starts from the basics of material science, describing the material and its growth, defect and electrical properties, the basics of its interaction with photons and the involved statistics, proceeding to space charge effects in semiconductors and pn-junctions. Most attention is given to analyze homo- and hetero-junction solar cells using various models and applying the field-of-direction analysis for discussing current voltage characteristics, and helping to discover the involvement of high-field effects in solar cells. The comprehensive coverage of the main topics of - and relating to - solar cells with extensive reference to literature helps scientists and engineers at all levels to reach a better understanding and improvement of solar cell properties and their production. The author is one of the founders of thin film solar cell research. Front Matter....Pages I-XL Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Crystal Bonding....Pages 3-22 Crystal Structure....Pages 23-43 The Growth of Semiconductors....Pages 45-49 Crystal Defects....Pages 51-71 Photochemical Reactions....Pages 73-82 Front Matter....Pages 83-83 Elements of Band Structure....Pages 85-103 Bands and Band Gaps in Solids....Pages 105-147 Equilibrium Statistics of Semiconductors....Pages 149-153 Shallow Level Centers....Pages 155-169 Deep Level Centers....Pages 171-206 Defect Associates....Pages 207-216 Defect States and Band States....Pages 217-225 Defects in Amorphous Semiconductors....Pages 227-238 Defects in Superlattices....Pages 239-245 Carriers and Their Motion....Pages 247-270 Carrier Transport....Pages 271-293 Carrier Scattering at Low Fields....Pages 295-313 Carrier Mobility Influenced by Larger Defects....Pages 315-319 Electron at High Fields....Pages 321-338 Front Matter....Pages 339-339 Basics of Optical Spectroscopy....Pages 341-360 Front Matter....Pages 339-339 Photon Interaction with Carriers....Pages 361-365 Carrier Recombination....Pages 367-386 Kinetics of Electron Distribution in Defects....Pages 387-406 Photoconductivity....Pages 407-424 Front Matter....Pages 425-425 Creation of Space-Charge Regions in Solids....Pages 427-446 The Schottky Barrier....Pages 447-471 Minority Carriers in Barriers....Pages 473-491 Minority Carrier Currents....Pages 493-516 Schottky Barrier in Two-Carrier Model....Pages 517-541 pn-Homojunctions....Pages 543-569 The Photovoltaic Effect....Pages 571-590 The pn -Junction with Light....Pages 591-624 The Heterojunction with Light....Pages 625-647 The CdS/CdTe Solar Cell....Pages 649-658 CdS/CdTe Analysis and Modeling....Pages 659-664 Basic Physics Discussion of CdS/CdTe....Pages 665-675 Stationary High-Field Domains as Tools....Pages 677-690 Commercial Use of CdS/CdTe....Pages 691-697 The CdS/CuInSe 2 Solar Cell....Pages 699-701 The CdS/Cu(InGa)Se 2 Solar Cells....Pages 703-720 Front Matter....Pages 425-425 Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells....Pages 721-738 Back Matter....Pages 739-882 This handbook is a compendium giving a comprehensive description of the basics of semiconductor physics relevant to the design and analysis of thin film solar cell materials. It starts from the basics of material science, describing the material and its growth, defect and electrical properties, the basics of its interaction with photons and the involved statistics, proceeding to space charge effects in semiconductors and pn-junctions. Most attention is given to analyze homo- and hetero-junction solar cells using various models and applying the field-of-direction analysis for discussing current voltage characteristics, and helping to discover the involvement of high-field effects in solar cells. The comprehensive coverage of the main topics of - and relating to - solar cells with extensive reference to literature helps scientists and engineers at all levels to reach a better understanding and im provement of solar cell properties and their production. The author is one of the founders of thin film solar cell research