1st Edition

Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cells

Edited By Arvind Victor Shah Copyright 2010

    Photovoltaic technology has now developed to the extent that it is close to fulfilling the vision of a "solar-energy world," as devices based on this technology are becoming efficient, low-cost and durable.  This book provides a comprehensive treatment of thin-film silicon, a prevalent PV material, in terms of its semiconductor nature, startin

    Introduction. Basic Properties of Amorphous Silicon. Basic Properties of Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Silicon. Theory of Solar Cell Devices. Tandem and Multi-Junction Solar Cells. Module Fabrication and Performance. Examples of Solar Cells Applications. Thin-Film Electronics.

    Biography

    Arvind V. Shah studied in Bombay, London and Zurich, receiving his Ph.D. in Applied Physics in 1968 from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH). He worked at the ETH until founding the Centre for Electronics Design and Technology (CEDT) at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India, in 1975. In March 1979, he was appointed professor of electronics at the University of Neuchatel, and in 1988 began a concurrent, part-time appointment at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). He is founder of Thin-film and Photovoltaics Laboratory at IMT Neuchatel where he was involved with the invention of VHF plasma deposition and the pioneering work with microcrystalline silicon andmicromorph tandem solar cells. Since 2000, he has been involved in the successful industrial transfer of technology, negotiating major licensing agreements both to start-up and established companies.