Next-Generation Solar Cells: Principles and Materials

Building a sustainable energy system is one of the great challenges of our time that has prompted both academia and industry to seek alternative energy and renewable energy solutions. Recently, advanced materials and technologies for next-generation solar cells have been exploited to develop economically viable, high-performance solar cells. This book addresses the principles and materials for the development of next-generation solar cells for a sustainable global society. It reviews the structures, working principles, and limitations of solar cells as well as the methods to improve their power-conversion efficiency. It introduces generations of cells as photovoltaic devices, including third-generation solar cells such as organic solar cells, quantum dot solar cells, and organic–inorganic hybrid solar cells. It focuses on the emerging perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and deals with their cell configuration, transport materials, and fabrication processes in detail.

Yoon-Bong Hahn is a Regents Professor of Jeonbuk National University (JBNU), South Korea, and is a fellow of the Korea Academy of Science and Technology (KAST), American Ceramic Society (ACerS), and the International Association of Advanced Materials (IAAM). He received his PhD in metallurgical engineering from the University of Utah, USA, in 1988, after which he started working at the research center of LG Metals, Korea, until 1991 when he joined JBNU. His research focuses on the synthesis of metal and metal oxide nanostructures and their applications in solar cells, chemical and biological sensors, and printed electronics.

Tahmineh Mahmoudi is a researcher working in collaboration with the Prof. Yoon-Bong Hahn group at the Advanced nano-Materials Processing Laboratory (AMPL), School of Semiconductor and Chemical Engineering, JBNU. She received her PhD in chemical engineering from JBNU in 2015. Her research focuses on metal oxides and graphene-based materials and their applications for hybrid and perovskite solar cells.

Yousheng Wang is an associate professor at the Institute of New Energy Technology, Jinan University, China, since 2019. He received his PhD in semiconductor and chemical engineering from JBNU, where he later became a postdoctoral fellow. His research focuses on the development of hybrid perovskite composites and their applications for next-generation solar cells.