This book provides the latest research & developments and future trends in photoenergy and thin film materials—two important areas that have the potential to spearhead the future of the industry. Photoenergy materials are expected to be a next generation class of materials to provide secure, safe, sustainable and affordable energy. Photoenergy devices are known to convert the sunlight into electricity. These types of devices are simple in design with a major advantage as they are stand-alone systems able to provide megawatts of power. They have been applied as a power source for solar home systems, remote buildings, water pumping, megawatt scale power plants, satellites, communications, and space vehicles. With such a list of enormous applications, the demand for photoenergy devices is growing every year. On the other hand, thin films coating, which can be defined as the barriers of surface science, the fields of materials science and applied physics are progressing as a unified discipline of scientific industry. A thin film can be termed as a very fine, or thin layer of material coated on a particular surface, that can be in the range of a nanometer in thickness to several micrometers in size. Thin films are applied in numerous areas ranging from protection purposes to electronic semiconductor devices. The 16 chapters in this volume, all written by subject matter experts, demonstrate the claim that both photoenergy and thin film materials have the potential to be the future of industry.

This book provides recent development in thin-film solar cells (TFSC). TFSC have proven the promising approach for terrestrial and space photovoltaics. TFSC have the potential to change the device design and produce high efficiency devices on rigid/flexible substrates with significantly low manufacturing cost. TFSC have several advantages in manufacturing compared to traditional crystalline Si-solar cells like less requirement of materials, can be prepared with earth’s abundant materials, less processing steps, easy to dispose, etc. Several universities/research institutes/industry in India and abroad are involved in the research area of thin-film solar cells. The book helps the readers to find the details about different thin-film technologies and its advancement at one place. Each chapter covers properties of materials, its suitability for PV applications, simple manufacturing processes and recent and past literature survey. The issues related to the development of high efficiency TFSC devices over large area and its commercial and future prospects are discussed.

Sputtered Thin Films: Theory and Fractal Descriptions provides an overview of sputtered thin films and demystifies the concept of fractal theory in analysis of sputtered thin films. It simplifies the use of fractal tools in studying the growth and properties of thin films during sputtering processes. Part 1 of the book describes the basics and theory of thin film sputtering and fractals. Part 2 consists of examples illustrating specific descriptions of thin films using fractal methods. Discusses thin film growth, structure, and properties Covers fractal theory Presents methods of fractal measurements Offers typical examples of fractal descriptions of thin films grown via magnetron sputtering processes Describes application of fractal theory in prediction of thin film growth and properties This reference book is aimed at engineers and scientists working across a variety of disciplines including materials science and metallurgy as well as mechanical, manufacturing, electrical, and biomedical engineering.

The book presents current R&D and new trends in the field of solar cell technologies. Topics covered include fabrication methods, various types of cell design, versatile applications of solar cells, PEDOT:PSS thermoelectric materials, transparent conducting electrodes, simulation models for solar photovoltaic materials, and hybrid materials for solar cells. Keywords: Optoelectronic Devices, PEDOT:PSS Materials, Nanomaterials, Transparent Electrodes, Hybrid Solar Cell Materials, Simulation Models, Solar Cell Design, Solar Cell Applications.

Emerging Nanotechnologies for Renewable Energy offers a detailed overview of the benefits and applications of nanotechnology in the renewable energy sector. The book highlights recent work carried out on the emerging role of nanotechnology in renewable energy applications, ranging from photovoltaics, to battery technology and energy from waste. Written by international authors from both industry and academia, the book covers topics including scaling up from laboratory to industrial scale. It is a valuable resource for students at postgraduate and advanced undergraduate levels, researchers in industry and academia, technology leaders, and policy and decision-makers in the energy and engineering sectors. - Offers insights into a wide range of nanoscale technologies for the generation, storage and transfer of energy - Shows how nanotechnology is being used to create new, more environmentally friendly energy solutions - Assesses the challenges involved in scaling up nanotechnology-based energy solutions to an industrial scale

Thin Film Coatings: Properties, Deposition, and Applications discusses the holistic subject of conventional and emerging thin film technologies without bias to a specific technology based on the existing literature. It covers properties and delves into the various methods of thin film deposition, including the most recent techniques and a direction for future developments. It also discusses the cutting-edge applications of thin film coatings such as self-healing and smart coatings, biomedical, hybrid, and scalable thin films. Finally, the concept of Industry 4.0 in thin film coating technology is examined. This book: Explores a wide range and is not specific to material and method of deposition Demonstrates the application of thin film coatings in nearly all sectors, such as energy and anti-microbial applications Details the preparation and properties of hybrid and scalable (ultra) thin materials for advanced applications Provides detailed bibliometric analyses on applications of thin film coatings Discusses Industry 4.0 and 3D printing in thin film technology With its broad coverage, this comprehensive reference will appeal to a wide audience of materials scientists and engineers and others studying and developing advanced thin film technologies.

Issues in Renewable Energy Technologies / 2011 Edition is a ScholarlyEditions™ eBook that delivers timely, authoritative, and comprehensive information about Renewable Energy Technologies. The editors have built Issues in Renewable Energy Technologies: 2011 Edition on the vast information databases of ScholarlyNews.™ You can expect the information about Renewable Energy Technologies in this eBook to be deeper than what you can access anywhere else, as well as consistently reliable, authoritative, informed, and relevant. The content of Issues in Renewable Energy Technologies: 2011 Edition has been produced by the world’s leading scientists, engineers, analysts, research institutions, and companies. All of the content is from peer-reviewed sources, and all of it is written, assembled, and edited by the editors at ScholarlyEditions™ and available exclusively from us. You now have a source you can cite with authority, confidence, and credibility. More information is available at http://www.ScholarlyEditions.com/.

This book examines the electronic structure of earth-abundant and environmentally friendly materials for use as absorber layers within photovoltaic cells. The corroboration between high-quality photoemission measurements and density of states calculations yields valuable insights into why these materials have demonstrated poor device efficiencies in the vast literature cited. The book shows how the materials’ underlying electronic structures affect their properties, and how the band positions make them unsuitable for use with established solar cell technologies. After explaining these poor efficiencies, the book offers alternative window layer materials to improve the use of these absorbers. The power of photoemission and interpretation of the data in terms of factors generally overlooked in the literature, such as the materials’ oxidation and phase impurity, is demonstrated. Representing a unique reference guide, the book will be of considerable interest and value to members of the photoemission community engaged in solar cell research, and to a wider materials science audience as well.