This work is primarily about solar cells and only secondarily concerned with the milieu in which the solar cells exist. Solar cells have been shown to be useful devices which convert sunlight directly to electricity. We have considered how they operate, and have constructed a realistic model which allows us to make predictions of both […]

As discussed in Chapter I, modem civilization consumes thousands of megawatts of electrical power. If solar cells are to supply a significant portion of this energy requirement, we must give some thought to overall system organization. Fundamentally, we require a source of heat energy and a source of electric energy to power our homes, factories […]

Classically, the storage of electrical energy has been achieved in two ways. First, utility companies have long used "pumped storage". In this technique excess electrical generating capacity has been utilized to supply energy to pump water into some reservoir behind a dam. During periods of high electrical demand, the stored water is released through conventional […]

As is true when we consider every other phase of this complex subject, it is not possible to conduct a discussion of solar cell system energy costs in isolation. Whether used as a "specialty" energy source to energize a wrist watch or power a pocket calculator, or as an energy source for an orbiting communications […]

Introduction The initial chapter of this work is devoted to a discussion of the various factors involved in the "energy crisis"; surveying various sources of energy, considering the ecological consequences of their usage; and indicating the potential of a solar cell driven solar-electric energy system. Chapter П provides insight into the amount of energy available […]

From the descriptions of the various polycrystalline and amorphous based solar cells, and die multitude of techniques for their fabrication, it is clear that we face complex problems. The discussions in this chapter are but a preliminary view into a complicated and fascinating field. For the purposes of this work in reviewing the status of […]

In many ways, it is easier to prepare amorphous silicon (a-Si) samples than to fabricate polycrystalline samples [38][62]. Interestingly, elemental amorphous silicon does not appear to possess any commercially valuable photovoltaic properties. Solar cells constructed of elemental amorphous silicon exhibit conversion efficiencies of less than a percent and have electrical characteristics which vary with time. […]

Amorphous materials are characterized by lack of long range order (long range, in this context, may be considered to be any distance in excess of one lattice constant) when the locations of the constituent atoms are considered. The resulting devices, in general, exhibit wider energy gaps than the crystalline varieties of the same material, higher […]