Materials on the International Space Station Experiment-5, Forward Technology Solar Cell Experiment: First On-Orbit Data

Author

Walters, R.J. ; Garner, J.C. ; Lam, S.N. ; Vasquez, J.A. ; Braun, W.R. ; Ruth, R.E. ; Warner, J.H. ; Lorentzen, J.R. ; Messenger, S.R. ; Bruninga, R. ; Jenkins, P.P. ; Flatico, J.M. ; Wilt, D.M. ; Piszczor, M.F. ; Greer, L.C. ; Krasowski, M.J.

Author_Institution

US Naval Res. Lab., Washington, DC

Volume

2

fYear

2006

fDate

7-12 May 2006

Firstpage

1951

Lastpage

1954

Abstract

First on-orbit data from the forward technology solar cell experiment (FTSCE) are presented. FTSCE is housed within the 5^th Materials on the International Space Station Experiment (MISSE-5), and currently resides on the exterior of the ISS. A range of solar cell technologies are included in the experiment including triple junction (3J) InGaP/GaAs/Ge solar cells from several vendors, thin film amorphous Si and CuIn(Ga)Se₂ cells, and next-generation technologies like single-junction GaAs cells grown on Si wafers and metamorphic InGaP/InGaAs/Ge triple-junction cells. Measured current vs. voltage (IV) curves from on- board experiments are analyzed. All of the solar cell technologies are showing nominal performance with no obvious signs of degradation

Keywords

III-V semiconductors; aerospace materials; amorphous semiconductors; copper compounds; gallium arsenide; gallium compounds; germanium; indium compounds; semiconductor thin films; silicon; solar cells; solar powered vehicles; space vehicle power plants; CuIn(Ga)Se₂; CuIn(Ga)Se₂ cell; FTSCE; InGaP-GaAs-Ge; InGaP-GaAs-Ge solar cell; International space station; Si; Si wafers; forward technology solar cell experiment; on-orbit data; thin film amorphous Si; triple junction cell; Amorphous materials; Current measurement; Degradation; Gallium arsenide; Indium gallium arsenide; International Space Station; Photovoltaic cells; Semiconductor thin films; Space technology; Voltage;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, Conference Record of the 2006 IEEE 4th World Conference on

Conference_Location

Waikoloa, HI

Print_ISBN

1-4244-0016-3

Electronic_ISBN

1-4244-0017-1

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/WCPEC.2006.279880

Filename

4060046