Solar Cells and Their Applications

A major update of solar cell technology and the solar
marketplace

Since the first publication of this important volume over a
decade ago, dramatic changes have taken place with the solar market
growing almost 100-fold and the U.S. moving from first to fourth
place in the world market as analyzed in this Second Edition. Three
bold new opportunities are identified for any countries wanting to
improve market position. The first is combining pin solar cells
with 3X concentration to achieve economic competitiveness near
term. The second is charging battery-powered cars with solar
cell-generated electricity from arrays in surrounding
areas--including the car owners' homes--while
simultaneously reducing their home electricity bills by over ninety
percent. The third is formation of economic "unions" of sufficient
combined economic size to be major competitors.

In this updated edition, feed-in tariffs are identified as the
most effective approach for public policy. Reasons are provided to
explain why pin solar cells outperform more traditional pn solar
cells. Field test data are reported for nineteen percent pin solar
cells and for ~500X concentrating systems with bare cell
efficiencies approaching forty percent. Paths to bare cell
efficiencies over fifty percent are described, and key missing
program elements are identified. Since government support is needed
for new technology prototype integration and qualification testing
before manufacturing scale up, the key economic measure is
identified in this volume as the electricity cost in cents per
kilowatt-hour at the complete installed system level, rather than
just the up-front solar cell modules' costs in dollars per
watt.

This Second Edition will benefit technologists in the fields of
solar cells and systems; solar cell researchers; power systems
designers; academics studying microelectronics, semiconductors, and
solar cells; business students and investors with a technical
focus; and government and political officials developing public
policy.

Auteur

Lewis M. Fraas, PhD, is the founder and President of JX Crystals
Inc. He has spearheaded the development of high-power-density
photovoltaic cells and complete concentrating photovoltaic and
thermophotovoltaic systems. Dr. Fraas wrote the first paper
describing the forty percent-efficient triple-junction concentrator
solar cell now entering high-volume production, and his group at
Boeing demonstrated the first thirty-five percent-efficient
dual-junction cell.

Larry D. Partain, PhD, is Director of Marketing and Advanced
Technology, initiating and managing high-risk/high-payoff R&D
programs for Varian Medical Systems. A prominent researcher in
solar cell and related X-ray imager technology, Dr. Partain
recently led efforts to develop high-performance X-ray and
flat-panel imaging medical systems, helping to create over $100
million in company sales.

Résumé

A major update of solar cell technology and the solar marketplace

Since the first publication of this important volume over a decade ago, dramatic changes have taken place with the solar market growing almost 100-fold and the U.S. moving from first to fourth place in the world market as analyzed in this Second Edition. Three bold new opportunities are identified for any countries wanting to improve market position. The first is combining pin solar cells with 3X concentration to achieve economic competitiveness near term. The second is charging battery-powered cars with solar cell–generated electricity from arrays in surrounding areas—including the car owners' homes—while simultaneously reducing their home electricity bills by over ninety percent. The third is formation of economic "unions" of sufficient combined economic size to be major competitors.

In this updated edition, feed-in tariffs are identified as the most effective approach for public policy. Reasons are provided to explain why pin solar cells outperform more traditional pn solar cells. Field test data are reported for nineteen percent pin solar cells and for ~500X concentrating systems with bare cell efficiencies approaching forty percent. Paths to bare cell efficiencies over fifty percent are described, and key missing program elements are identified. Since government support is needed for new technology prototype integration and qualification testing before manufacturing scale up, the key economic measure is identified in this volume as the electricity cost in cents per kilowatt-hour at the complete installed system level, rather than just the up-front solar cell modules' costs in dollars per watt.

This Second Edition will benefit technologists in the fields of solar cells and systems; solar cell researchers; power systems designers; academics studying microelectronics, semiconductors, and solar cells; business students and investors with a technical focus; and government and political officials developing public policy.

Contenu

I. Introduction to Solar Cells.

1. Solar Cells: A Brief History and Introduction (Lewis Fraas
   and Larry Partain).

2. Solar Cell Electricity Market History, Public Policy,
   Projected Future and Estimated Costs (Larry Partain and Lewis
   Fraas).

3. Solar Cells, Single Crystal Semiconductors, and High
   Efficiency (Lewis Fraas).

4. Solar Cell Device Physics (Larry Partain).

II. Terrestrial Solar Cell Electricity.

5. Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells and Modules (Leonid
   Rubin).

6. Thin Film Solar Cells and Modules (Robert
   Birkmire).

7. Terrestrial Module Fabrication & Assembly Technologies
   (Christopher Bunner).

8. Chinese Solar Cell Status (Wang Sicheng).

9. Tracking the Sun for More kWh and Lower Cost Solar
   Electricity (Ron Corio, Michael Reed and Lewis Fraas).

10. Solar Cell Systems: Definition, Performance &
    Reliability (Jason Strauch, Larry Moore and Elmer
    Collins).

11. Leveled Cost of Energy for Utility-Scale Photovoltaics
    (Matthew Campbell).

III. Terrestrial Concentrator Solar Cell Systems.

12. Low Concentration Crystalline Silicon Systems (Lewis
    Fraas).

13. High-Concentration, III-V Multijunction Solar Cells
    (Geoffrey Kinsey).

14. High Concentration Fresnel Lens Assemblies and Systems
    (Gerhard (Peharz and Andreas Bett).

15. High Concentration Cassengrainian Solar Cell Modules and
    Arrays (Michael Ludowise and Lewis Fraas).

16. Concentrator Solar Cell Installations at University of
    Nevada Las Vegas (Suresh Sadineni and Robert Boehm).

17. Concentrator Solar Cell Field Installations (Francisca
    Rubio, Mar¡a Martinez and Pedro Banda).

IV. Solar Cells in Space.

18. Space Solar Cells and Applications (Sheila Bailey and
    Ryne Raffaelle).

V. Other Aspects & Considerations.

19. Solar Resource for Space and Terrestrial Applications
    (Christian Gueymard and Daryl Myers).

20. Solar Energy Costs: The Solar Advisor Model (Paul Gilman,
    Nathan Blair and Christopher Cameron).

21. Challenges of Large-Scale Solar Cell Electricity Production
    (David Faiman).

VI. Thin Films & X-ray Imager Technologies.

22. Market Overview of Flat Panel Detectors for X-Ray Imaging
    (Carl LaCasce, Larry Partain and Chuck Blouir).

23. Amorphous Silicon Transistors and Photodiodes (Robert
    Street).

24. Amorphous Silicon Digital X-ray Imaging (Richard
    Colbeth).

25. Photoconductor Digital X-ray Imaging (George
    Zentai).

VII. Summary.

26. Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations (Lewis Fraas
    and Larry Partain).