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.

This book offers a bird's-eye view of the recent development trends in photovoltaics a big business field that is rapidly growing and well on its way to maturity. The book describes current efforts to develop highly efficient, low-cost photovoltaic devices based on crystalline silicon, IIIV compounds, copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) and perovskite photovoltaic cells along with innovative, cost-competitive glass/ flexible tubular glass concentrator modules and systems, highlighting recent attempts to develop highly efficient, low-cost, flexible photovoltaic cells based on CIGS and perovskite thin films. This second edition presents, for the first time, the possible applications of perovskite modules together with Augsburger Tubular photovoltaics.

Covers the major developments in photovoltaics Summarizes the current knowledge in low-cost and high-efficiency solar cell technology Presents the new technology of concentrator photovoltaics Written by leading experts, including a Nobel laureate Second edition presents potential applications of perovskite modules together with Augsburger Tubular photovoltaics

Autorentext
Vesselinka Petrova-Koch, born in Bulgaria, obtained her Ph.D. at the Technical University of Dresden and began her career at the Central Laboratory for Solar and Other Energy Sources at the Bulgarian Academy of Science. She continued her scientific activity in the fields of light emitting nano-crystalline silicon, nano-surfaces for thermally toughened soda lime glass, porous Si for c-Si photovoltaics and other applications at the Technical University of Munich. She is the founder of the Gate East Consulting Company and in the last five years has focused on the development of Augsburger Tubular Photovoltaics (ATPV). Recently she was awarded the Bavarian Green Angel prize.
Rudolf Hezel began his career at Siemens Munich and spent one year at the IBM laboratories in the US. Later he became a Professor of Material Science at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg where he was a co-founder and one of the directors of the Bavarian Center for Applied Energy Research (ZAE Bayern). In 1993 be became director of the Institute for Solar Energy Research in Hamelin (ISFH) and Professor of Physics at the University Hannover. For several decades his research was focused on High-Efficient c-Si photovotaics and led to the breakthrough of a couple of main-stream technologies. He is currently living in Pullach/Munich.
Adolf Goetzberger is one of the pioneers of photovoltaic technology. He obtained his Ph.D. in Munich and afterwards went to work together with William Shockly in California and later for Bell Labs. In 1981, Goetzberger founded the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy (ISE) in Freiburg, which became the largest solar energy institute in Europe. He has been awarded for his lifelong work with the European Solar Award in 2009 and the European Inventor Award in 2010. Additionally, he was awarded the Officers Cross of the Order of Merit of Germany and Order of Merit of the state of Baden-Württemberg.

Inhalt
Preface.- Milestones of Solar Conversion and Photovoltaics.- PV as a Major Contribution of the 100% Renewably Powered World.- Advanced Solar Grade Silicon Material.- Commercial High Efficient Silicon Solar Cells.- Silicon Nitride and Aluminum Oxide: Two Multifunctional Dielectric Layers are Boosting Present and Future Silicon Solar Cells.- PERC Solar Cells - Monofacial and Bifacial.- Industrial PERC Solar Cells.- III-V SolarCells and Concentrator Arrays.- CIGS Thin Film Photovoltaic Approaches and Challenges.- Perovskite PV: Rigid and Flexible High Efficient Low Cost Cells and Modules.- Augsburger Tubular PV.- Fluorescent Solar Energy Concentrators: Principle and Present State of Development.