Title :
Solar array trades between very high-efficiency multi-junction and Si space solar cells
Author :
Fatemi, Navid S. ; Pollard, Howard E. ; Hou, Hong Q. ; Sharps, Paul R.
Author_Institution :
Emcore Photovoltaics, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Abstract :
This paper describes a trade study between state-of-the-art, commercially-available very high-efficiency III-V multi-junction solar cells and advanced high-efficiency silicon cells at the bare cell and panel levels. The solar cell technologies in this comparison will be high-efficiency rad-hard 3-mil Si, dual-junction InGaP/GaAs (on Ge), and triple-junction InGaP/GaAs/Ge, with the beginning-of-life (BOL) efficiencies of 17%, 23%, and 26%, respectively. Two different `typical orbits are considered: geosyncronous (GEO) and low-Earth (LEO) orbits. It is assumed that the end-of-life (EOL) conditions for GEO and LEO are equivalent to degradation due to 1-MeV electrons at 5E14 and 1E15 e/cm 2, respectively. Parameters critical to conventional rigid solar arrays such as specific power/mass (W/Kg), specific mass/area (Kg/m2), specific power/area (W/m2), and normalized end-of-life (EOL) $/W are compared for these cell technologies
Keywords :
III-VI semiconductors; elemental semiconductors; gallium arsenide; gallium compounds; indium compounds; p-n junctions; radiation hardening (electronics); silicon; solar cell arrays; space vehicle power plants; 1 MeV; 17 percent; 23 percent; 26 percent; 3 mil; III-V multi-junction solar cells; InGaP-GaAs; InGaP-GaAs-Ge; InGaP/GaAs; InGaP/GaAs/Ge; Si; Si space power solar cells; geosyncronous Earth orbits; low-Earth orbits; radiation hardening; rigid solar arrays; solar cell technologies; trade study; Costs; Electrons; Gallium arsenide; Low earth orbit satellites; Photovoltaic cells; Radiation hardening; Silicon; Space technology; Temperature; Thermal degradation;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, 2000. Conference Record of the Twenty-Eighth IEEE
Conference_Location :
Anchorage, AK
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-5772-8
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.2000.916075
