Project Title:
Hardened, Thin-Film Aluminum-Galium-Arsenide Solar Cells with Specific Power Over
10.05-6696
911180
Hardened, Thin-Film Aluminum-Galium-Arsenide Solar Cells with Specific Power Over
700 Watts/Kilogram
Kopin Corporation
695 Myles Standish Boulevard
Taunton
MA
02780
Ronald P.
Gale
508-824-6696
JPL
NAS7-1187
209
10.05-6696
911180
Abstract:
Hardened, Thin-Film Aluminum-Gallium-Arsenide Solar Cells with Specific Power Over
700 Watts/Kilogram
There is currently a need for space power systems which are both lightweight and
able to survive the hostile radiation environment of space orbit. The objective of
this project is to develop a large-area, thin-film AlGaAs solar cell that is over
20 percent efficient (one-sun, AM0 @ 28C) with a specific power over 700 W/kg with
a 4-mil coverglass. By using AlGaAs as the absorber material, the end-of-life efficiency
will be improved over that of GaAs cells. Phase I will investigate the growth and
fabrication of thin-film AlGaAs solar cells with a bandgap of 1.5 eV. The material
will be grown by organometallic chemical vapor deposition, and solar cell structures
will be deposited on bulk substrates. Bulk cells will be fabricated and tested with
comparisons made to predicted cell performance from theoretical models. Thin-film
cell structures will then be fabricated to demonstrate the feasibility of this approach.
The Phase I goal is the delivery of AlGaAs cells with specific power of 700 W/kg,
an area of 8 cm3, and a beginning-of-life efficiency of 19 percent. Phase II will
include radiation testing and end-of-life optimization of the cells, increasing the
cell area to 24 cm2, and integration of the cell into state-of-the-art array technologies.
This product will extend the lifetime of many satellites, allow for payload capacity,
and will be applicable in both military and commercial satellites and planetary missions.
photovoltaics, aluminum gallium arsenide, specific power, space power, solar cells,
radiation resistance.