Photovoltaic Technology: Material and Optical Advances

Abstract

Nanostructured devices and materials that make utilization of size quantization impacts to manipulate photon density of states offer a way to overcome the conventional light absorption limits spectrum splitting and photon-recycling schemes reduce the entropy production in the optical energy-conversion platforms and boost their efficiencies. Optical design concepts are quickly expanding into the infrared energy band, offering new ways to harvest waste heat, to reduce the thermal emission losses, and to achieve noncontact radiative cooling of solar cells as well as of optical and electronic circuits. The guide opens up with a tutorial section, which presents major concepts and terminology. It is our hope that the guide will help as an important resource for the scientific group, new generations of researches, funding agencies, industry experts, and investors.