Solar Cells and Light Management: Materials, Strategies and Sustainability - Softcover

Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

Francesco Enrichi, PhD in materials science, is a physicist with about 20 years’ experience in research and technology transfer. He has been a Vinnmer Marie Curie Fellow at Luleå University of Technology, Research Fellow at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and at Enrico Fermi Center in Rome, and Director of the Optical Laboratory in Veneto Nanotech, the Italian Cluster for Nanotechnologies. His research interests are mainly in the field of luminescent materials from nanophosphors to glass-ceramic coatings, with applications in biosensors, lighting, solar cells, anticounterfeiting, and cultural heritage. In these areas, he published more than 100 research papers and presented several invited oral contributions at international conferences. He acted as contract professor for university courses, secondary level masters, and EU-funded courses, and he supervised a significant number of students. He has the Italian qualification as full professor (ASN) in various fields of the physics and chemistry of materials. He is member of the Energy Group Committee of the Institute of Physics (IoP).

Dr. Giancarlo C. Righini is a Physicist who has worked almost 40 years at CNR, the National Research Council of Italy, in Florence and Rome. He was the research director at the Nello Carrara Institute of Applied Physics (IFAC CNR, Florence); and then director of the National Department on Materials and Devices (DMD CNR, Rome). After his retirement at CNR, in 2010, he was director of the Enrico Fermi Centre in Rome until 2016. He is now an associate to both the institutions. His research interests have concerned optical holography, fiber and integrated optics, glass materials, microresonators, solar cells, always mainly from an experimental point of view. He was Vice-President of IUPAP and of ICO; co-founder and president of the Italian Society of Optics and Photonics (SIOF); co-founder and secretary of EOS; member of the Board of Directors of SPIE. He is chair of the technical committee TC20 of the International Commission on Glass. He is Fellow of EOS, OSA, SIOF, SPIE, and Meritorious Member of SIF.

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Edited by Francesco Enrichi & Giancarlo C. Righini

Strong research efforts and considerable investments are now devoted to the widespread development of renewable energies. A key role is played by photovoltaics (PV) since sunlight is available all over the world and can be exploited in low-priced portable devices, as well as large-scale industrial installations. Indeed, the evolution of solar cells is moving incredibly fast, especially in the synthesis of novel materials and by increasing the efficiency of existing ones too.

Solar Cells and Light Management: Materials, Strategies, and Sustainability provides an extensive review on the latest advances in PV materials as well as light management strategies for better exploiting the solar spectrum. Following a brief review of the current status of solar cells, this book is divided into four key parts. The first part discusses the different concepts, principles, and technologies for solar devices, starting from the standard silicon cells to organic hybrid, DSSC, perovskite, and nanostructured oxide solar cells. This panorama allows the reader to get up to date with the standard traditional approach as well as new and more promising concepts. The second and third parts are focused on light manipulation and spectral modification to further improve and increase the photon-to-current efficiency. These fields, too, are in rapid evolution, and the latest results on optical strategies and materials for light trapping, plasmonic scattering, spectral up- and downconversion (mainly based on rare earth–doped oxides and complexes) are reported. Finally, the book is brought to a closure with two chapters on environmental, sustainable, and ethical issues. An eMergy (spelled with "m") analysis approach is presented applied to the study of solar PV systems. This analysis, which is an extension of Life Cycle Assessment methodology, allows effective integrated indicators for the evaluation of the global efficiency and the sustainability of the systems at issue. The final chapter also presents considerations which can contribute to establish an environmentally just and sustainability standard for photovoltaics.

About the authors

Francesco Enrichi, PhD in materials science, is a physicist with about 20 years’ experience in research and technology transfer. He has been a Vinnmer Marie Curie Fellow at Luleå University of Technology, Research Fellow at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and at Enrico Fermi Center in Rome, and Director of the Optical Laboratory in Veneto Nanotech, the Italian Cluster for Nanotechnologies. His research interests are mainly in the field of luminescent materials from nanophosphors to glass-ceramic coatings, with applications in biosensors, lighting, solar cells, anticounterfeiting, and cultural heritage. In these areas, he published more than 100 research papers and presented several invited oral contributions at international conferences. He acted as contract professor for university courses, secondary level masters, and EU-funded courses, and he supervised a significant number of students. He has the Italian qualification as full professor (ASN) in various fields of the physics and chemistry of materials. He is member of the Energy Group Committee of the Institute of Physics (IoP).

Dr Giancarlo C. Righini is a physicist who has worked almost 40 years at CNR, the National Research Council of Italy, in Florence and Rome. He was the research director at the Nello Carrara Institute of Applied Physics (IFAC CNR, Florence) and then director of the National Department on Materials and Devices (DMD CNR, Rome). After his retirement at CNR, in 2010, he was director of the Enrico Fermi Center in Rome until 2016. He is now an associate to both the institutions. His research interests have concerned optical holography, fiber and integrated optics, glass materials, microresonators, solar cells, always mainly from an experimental point of view. In these areas, he published more than 500 research papers. He was vice president of IUPAP and of ICO; cofounder and president of the Italian Society of Optics and Photonics (SIOF); cofounder and secretary of EOS; member of the Board of Directors of SPIE. He is chair of the technical committee TC20 of the International Commission on Glass. He is a Fellow of EOS, OSA, SIOF, SPIE, and Meritorious Member of SIF.