A preliminary investigation of the optical characteristics of Gax In1-x As epilayers is presented. Gax In1-x As epilayers with x=0.465, 0.400, and 0.277 were prepared by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) to represent a wide spectrum of TPV converter applications. Ellipsometric; measurements, combined with various characterization techniques and multi-layer modeling, are used to extract n(...lambda...) and k(...lambda...) for these epilayers. The validity of the results was checked by using the experimentally determined optical constants to calculate expected; reflectance, and then comparing this result against measured reflectance. Good agreement was obtained in all cases; larger differences were observed for samples having greater surface roughness. Suggestions for; improving theoptical constant determination procedure are given.

Foundations for the reality of a broadly based, large scale deployment of photovoltaics in commercial applications are described. Research, development, and applications experience and efforts are presented. Special sessions on the problems relating to financing, installing, and operating photovoltaic power generating systems are given. Production problems and techniques are described.

Optoelectronic devices operating in the mid-infrared wavelength range offer applications in a variety of areas from environmental gas monitoring around oil rigs to the detection of narcotics. They could also be used for free-space optical communications, thermal imaging applications and the development of "homeland security" measures. Mid-infrared Semiconductor Optoelectronics is an overview of the current status and technological development in this rapidly emerging area; the basic physics, some of the problems facing the design engineer and a comparison of possible solutions are laid out; the different lasers used as sources for mid-infrared technology are considered; recent work in detectors is reviewed; the last part of the book is concerned with applications. With a world-wide authorship of experts working in many mid-infrared-related fields this book will be an invaluable reference for researchers and graduate students drawn from physics, electronic and electrical engineering and materials science.

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 contains comprehensive reviews of different technologies to harness lattice mismatch in semiconductor heterostructures and their applications in electronic and optoelectronic devices. While the book is a bit focused on metamorphic epitaxial growth, it also includes other methods like compliant substrate, selective area growth, wafer bonding, heterostructure nanowires, and more. Basic knowledge on dislocations in semiconductors and innovative methods to eliminate threading dislocations are provided, and successful device applications are reviewed. It covers a variety of important semiconductor materials like SiGe, III-V including GaN and nano-wires; epitaxial methods like molecular beam epitaxy and metal organic vapor phase epitaxy; and devices like transistors and lasers etc.

This book gives a comprehensive introduction to the field of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells and modules. In thirteen chapters, it addresses a wide range of topics including the spectrum of light received by PV devices, the basic functioning of a solar cell, and the physical factors limiting the efficiency of solar cells. It places particular emphasis on crystalline silicon solar cells and modules, which constitute today more than 90 % of all modules sold worldwide. Describing in great detail both the manufacturing process and resulting module performance, the book also touches on the newest developments in this sector, such as Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact (TOPCON) and heterojunction modules, while dedicating a major chapter to general questions of module design and fabrication. Overall, it presents the essential theoretical and practical concepts of PV solar cells and modules in an easy-to-understand manner and discusses current challenges facing the global research and development community.

A detailed description of the basic physics of semiconductors. All the important equations describing the properties of these materials are derived without the help of other textbooks. The reader is assumed to have only a basic command of mathematics and some elementary semiconductor physics. The text covers a wide range of important semiconductor phenomena, from the simple to the advanced.