About this book
This book aims to cover all the topics that are relevant for obtaining a broad overview on
the different aspects of Solar Energy, with a focus on photovoltaics, which is the
technology that allows energy carried by light to be converted directly into electrical
energy.
The organization of this book is roughly linked to the three lecture series on
photovoltaics (PV) that are given at the Faculty for Electrical Engineering, Mathematics
and Computer Science of Delft University of Technology throughout the academic year:
PV Basics, which roughly covers the topics covered in Part II on PV Fundamentals; PV
Technologies, which covers the topics treated in Part III; and PV Systems, which are
treated in Part IV.
In total, this book contains five parts. In the introductory Part I we provide the reader
with some general facts on energy in Chapter 1, summarize the current status of PV in the
world in Chapter 2, and give a first short explanation on how solar cells work in Chapter
3.
Part II aims to cover all the physical fundamentals that are required for understanding
solar cells in general and the different technologies in particular. After discussing some
basics of electrodynamics in Chapter 4 and solar radiation in Chapter 5, we spend several
chapters explaining the most important concepts of semiconductor physics. Following the
discussion on the basics in Chapter 6, we elaborate on the different generation and
recombination mechanisms in Chapter 7 and introduce different types of semiconductor
junctions in Chapter 8. After introducing the most important parameters for characterizing
solar cells in Chapter 9, we conclude Part II with a discussion on the efficiency limits of
photovoltaic devices in Chapter 10, from which we distil some general design rules that
are very important in Part III.
The different PV technologies are discussed in Part III. After summarizing the history
of solar cells in Chapter 11, we discuss crystalline silicon technology, which is by far the
most important PV technology, in Chapter 12. We continue the discussion by taking a look
at the different thin-film technologies in Chapter 13. After that, we take a closer look at
some processing technologies in Chapter 14 and discuss how to fabricate PV modules
from solar cells in Chapter 15. Part III is concluded with a discussion on several thirdgeneration concepts that aim to combine high efficiencies with low cost in Chapter 16.
This book aims to cover all the topics that are relevant for obtaining a broad overview on
the different aspects of Solar Energy, with a focus on photovoltaics, which is the
technology that allows energy carried by light to be converted directly into electrical
energy.
The organization of this book is roughly linked to the three lecture series on
photovoltaics (PV) that are given at the Faculty for Electrical Engineering, Mathematics
and Computer Science of Delft University of Technology throughout the academic year:
PV Basics, which roughly covers the topics covered in Part II on PV Fundamentals; PV
Technologies, which covers the topics treated in Part III; and PV Systems, which are
treated in Part IV.
In total, this book contains five parts. In the introductory Part I we provide the reader
with some general facts on energy in Chapter 1, summarize the current status of PV in the
world in Chapter 2, and give a first short explanation on how solar cells work in Chapter
3.
Part II aims to cover all the physical fundamentals that are required for understanding
solar cells in general and the different technologies in particular. After discussing some
basics of electrodynamics in Chapter 4 and solar radiation in Chapter 5, we spend several
chapters explaining the most important concepts of semiconductor physics. Following the
discussion on the basics in Chapter 6, we elaborate on the different generation and
recombination mechanisms in Chapter 7 and introduce different types of semiconductor
junctions in Chapter 8. After introducing the most important parameters for characterizing
solar cells in Chapter 9, we conclude Part II with a discussion on the efficiency limits of
photovoltaic devices in Chapter 10, from which we distil some general design rules that
are very important in Part III.
The different PV technologies are discussed in Part III. After summarizing the history
of solar cells in Chapter 11, we discuss crystalline silicon technology, which is by far the
most important PV technology, in Chapter 12. We continue the discussion by taking a look
at the different thin-film technologies in Chapter 13. After that, we take a closer look at
some processing technologies in Chapter 14 and discuss how to fabricate PV modules
from solar cells in Chapter 15. Part III is concluded with a discussion on several thirdgeneration concepts that aim to combine high efficiencies with low cost in Chapter 16.