Recent achievements in sunlight concentration techniques have increased the potential of solar power as a viable source of renewable energy. Through its critical analysis of current methods, Photovoltaic Conversion of Concentrated Sunlight provides a comprehensive treatment of the issues involved in the creation of an efficient and cost-effective sustainable power resource. The authors introduce significant new original research and offer an insight into previously inaccessible Russian studies. Logically structured, the text presents both theoretical and practical advances in the field. Features include:

• Discussion of fabrication problems for both terrestrial and space photovoltaic installations
• Investigation of the impact of resistive losses on the operation of solar cells and new procedures for measuring components of internal resistance
• Explanation of the semiconductor physics underlying photovoltaics
• Examination of the most efficient concentrator solar cell structures and materials plus exploration of ways to improve cell performance
• Original theoretical and experimental results on luminescence phenomena in concentrator cells
• Useful measurement techniques for the determination of diagnostic cell parameters
• Analysis of energy characteristics of photovoltaic installations with high and low concentration ratios

An invaluable asset to industrialists and academics concerned with semiconductors and photovoltaics, this book will also serve environmental scientists through its examination of the problems associated with large-scale use of this ecological technology.