Indium phosphide solar cells

The ideal solar cells for use in space have a high power to mass ratio and a high resistance to radiation. To date, flat panels using cells based on single crystal silicon or gallium arsenide have been used on space flights, although development programmes have considered the use of cells based on other materials and alternative panel designs, such as the use of concentration. One of the promising materials for space solar cells is the III-V semiconductor indium phosphide, which has shown good performance in both homojunction and heterojunction structures. Radiation resistance tests performed to date imply significantly less performance degradation than for cells based on either silicon or gallium arsenide. The authors review the present status of indium phosphide based cells and discuss their potential