-A-  

absorber--A material that readily absorbs photons to generate charge carriers (free electrons or holes).  

absorbers--Dark-colored objects that soak up heat in solar collectors.  

absorpt...Read More

-D-  

dangling bonds--A chemical bond associated with an atom on the surface layer of a crystal. The
bond does not join with another atom of the crystal, but extends in the direction of exterior of the
surface. <...Read More

-G-  

gallium (Ga)--A chemical element, atomic number 31, metallic in nature, used in making certain
kinds of solar cells and semiconductor devices.  

gallium arsenide (GaAs)--A crystalline, III-V, high-ef...Read More

-J-  

junction--A region of transition between semiconductor layers, such as a p/n junction, which goes
from a region that has a high concentration of acceptors (p-type) to one that has a high
concentration of donors ...Read More

-N-  

nonrenewable fuels--Fuels that cannot be easily made or "renewed." We can use up nonrenewable
fuels. Oil, natural gas, and coal are nonrenewable fuels.  

n-type semiconductor--A semiconduct...Read More

-Q-  

quad--A measure of energy equal to one trillion Btus; an energy equivalent to approximately 172 million barrels of oil.  

qualification test (PV)--A procedure applied to a selected set of PV modules involv...Read More

-T-  

thermal electric--Electric energy derived from heat energy, usually by heating a working fluid,
which drives a turbogenerator. See 'solar thermal electric.'  

thermal mass--Materials that store heat ...Read More

-W-  

wafer--A thin sheet of semiconductor material made by mechanically sawing it from a
single-crystal or multicrystal ingot or casting.  

watt (W)--The unit of electric power, or amount of work (J), don...Read More