Thin-film solar cells are either emerging or about to emerge from the research laboratory to become commercially available devices finding practical various applications. Currently no textbook outlining the basic theoretical background, methods of fabrication and applications currently exist. Thus, this book aims to present for the first time an in-depth overview of this topic covering a broad range of thin-film solar cell technologies including both organic and inorganic materials, presented in a systematic fashion, by the scientific leaders in the respective domains. It covers a broad range...

Liquid-Phase Epitaxy (LPE) is a technique used in the bulk growth of crystals, typically in semiconductor manufacturing, whereby the crystal is grown from a rich solution of the semiconductor onto a substrate in layers, each of which is formed by supersaturation or cooling. At least 50% of growth in the optoelectronics area is currently focussed on LPE.

This book covers the bulk growth of semiconductors, i.e. silicon, gallium arsenide, cadmium mercury telluride, indium phosphide, indium antimonide, gallium nitride, cadmium zinc telluride, a range of wide-bandgap II-VI compounds, diamond...

A valuable, timely book for the crystal growth community, edited by one of the most respected members in the field.

• Contents cover all the important materials from silicon through the III-V and II-IV compounds to oxides, nitrides, fluorides, carbides and diamonds
• International group of contributors from academia and industry provide a balanced treatment
• Includes global interest with particular relevance to: USA, Canada, UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China, Australia and South Africa

Mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) is the third most well-regarded semiconductor after silicon and gallium arsenide and is the material of choice for use in infrared sensing and imaging. The reason for this is that MCT can be 'tuned' to the desired IR wavelength by varying the cadmium concentration.

Mercury Cadmium Telluride: Growth, Properties and Applications provides both an introduction for newcomers, and a comprehensive review of this fascinating material. Part One discusses the history and current status of both bulk and epitaxial growth techniques, Part Two is concerned with the...

Providing a viable alternative to lead-based solders is a major research thrust for the electrical and electronics industries - whilst mechanically compliant lead-based solders have been widely used in the electronic interconnects, the risks to human health and to the environment are too great to allow continued widescale usage. Lead-free Solders: Materials Reliability for Electronics chronicles the search for reliable drop-in lead-free alternatives and covers:

• Phase diagrams and alloy development
• Effect of minor alloying additions
• Composite approaches...

The creation of affordable high speed optical communications using standard semiconductor manufacturing technology is a principal aim of silicon photonics research. This would involve replacing copper connections with optical fibres or waveguides, and electrons with photons. With applications such as telecommunications and information processing, light detection, spectroscopy, holography and robotics, silicon photonics has the potential to revolutionise electronic-only systems. Providing an overview of the physics, technology and device operation of photonic devices using exclusively silicon...

Optical waveguides take a prominent role in photonics because they are able to trap and to transport light efficiently between a point of excitation and a point of detection. Moreover, waveguides allow the management of many of the fundamental properties of light and allow highly controlled interaction with other optical systems. For this reason waveguides are ubiquitous in telecommunications, sensing, spectroscopy, light sources, and high power light delivery. Nanostructured and subwavelength waveguides have additional advantages; they are able to confine light at a length scale below the...