High-Efficient Low-Cost Photovoltaics: Recent Developments

A bird’s-eye view of the development and problems of recent photovoltaic cells and systems and prospects for Si feedstock is presented.

High-efficient low-cost PV modules, making use of novel efficient solar cells (based on c-Si or III-V materials), and low cost solar concentrators are in the focus of this book.

Recent developments of organic photovoltaics, which is expected to overcome its difficulties and to enter the market soon, are also included.

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.