LISA-T part three: The design and space environments testing of a thin-film power generation and communication array

Carr, Jack; Johnson, C. L.; Boyd, Darren; Phillips, Brandon; Finckenor, Miria M.; Farmer, Brandon; Smith, Joseph C.

doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2023.02.001

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…After thermal cycling, the max power increased by 3%-5%-with increases in both short circuit current and fill factor. A similar increase was also noted during thermal treatments of by-hand process coupons [32], which has been attributed to annealing and sintering of the top-side inks and, in the case of by-hand coupons, welded metal interconnects. This, coupled with the 'by-hand' environmental results [32], gives strong indication of the robustness and survivability of PAPPA-processed coupons in the space environment.…”

Section: Results: Proof-of-concept Testingsupporting

confidence: 65%

“…A campaign of environmental testing, including particulate radiation, atomic oxygen exposure, ultraviolet radiation, thermal cycling, and the like, has been completed on by-hand fabricated thin-film solar coupons of the same material set [32]. Because the same materials are used for PAPPA-processed coupons, a large portion of the 'by-hand results' will be directly applicable, including the particulate radiation, atomic oxygen, and ultra-violet radiation responses.…”

Section: Results: Proof-of-concept Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Initial steps towards a robotic solution for the manufacturing and assembly of thin-film space solar arrays

Carr,

Thompson,

Bumbalough

2023

Flex. Print. Electron.

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Print-Assisted Photovoltaic Panel Assembly, a novel printed electronic process presented herein, uses additive manufacturing to print flexible paneling components around commercial off-the-shelf thin-film solar cells. This builds a fully functional, flexible solar panel, suitable for space environments, via an automated process. Currently, thin-film space solar panels are manufactured via the compilation of piece parts by hand. In contrast, Print-Assisted Photovoltaic Panel Assembly automates the labor-intensive paneling process. The advantages are twofold: (i) Near-Term: solar panel cost reduction alongside the enablement of very large-scale production and (ii) Long-Term: builds towards a capability for in-space solar panel manufacturing. Herein, details of the process, proof-of-concept functional testing, and implications for further development and application are presented.

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Section: Results: Proof-of-concept Testingsupporting

confidence: 65%

Section: Results: Proof-of-concept Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Initial steps towards a robotic solution for the manufacturing and assembly of thin-film space solar arrays

Carr,

Thompson,

Bumbalough

2023

Flex. Print. Electron.

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“…Chemical reactions are influenced by various factors, and environmental temperature is one of the important factors affecting the speed of chemical reactions. In foreign in-orbit experiments, polyimide films were selected as the research object to investigate the various performance changes of polyimide films in AO environments under different temperature conditions [3,4,5] . Some universities and scientific research institutions in China have also conducted extensive research on the performance changes of surface materials used in spacecraft under an AO environment and formed a series of research results, providing data support for the selection of thermal control materials used in spacecraft, especially in the field of manned spaceflight.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influences of temperature on the property of ITO/Teflon/Ag in atomic oxygen environment

Guo,

Qiu,

Zhang

et al. 2024

J. Phys.: Conf. Ser.

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This paper uses ground simulation equipment for an atomic oxygen environment to conduct experimental research on ITO/Teflon/Ag, which is used in spacecraft using an atomic oxygen environment. The atomic oxygen integrated flux selected in the study is 9.1× 1019 atoms/cm2, with a vacuum degree of 10-2 Pa, and sample temperatures of 20°C, 70°C, and 120°C, respectively, were selected to investigate the possible impact of sample temperature on atomic oxygen environment simulation experiments. After the test, a high-precision microelectronic balance was used to test the mass loss of the sample and calculate the reaction rate of the material. The thermal emissivity and solar absorption ratio of the sample were tested using TEMP 2000A and LPSR 300, respectively. Through experiments and analysis, it was found that as the sample temperature increased, the ITO/Teflon/Ag reaction rate with atomic oxygen gradually increased but remained at 10-25. Atomic oxygen and temperature have a significant impact on the thermal physical properties of the material.

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“…This is critical for space applications with ultracompact solar array deployment systems such as NASA's Lightweight Integrated Solar Array and AnTenna (LISA-T), slip wrapping concept by Caltech, and R3D2 antenna deployment system by MMA Design developed for small spacecrafts. 6 While protecting a solar cell the polymer overcoat itself is subject to degradation under exposure to solar UV. This degradation reveals as darkening, yellowing or sublimation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This degradation reveals as darkening, yellowing or sublimation. 6 Besides, the energy of UV radiation just gets wasted in the polymer layer without producing electricity. In this paper we describe our efforts to make polymer nanocomposite layers that convert UV into visible and near-infrared (NIR) radiation that can be used by solar PV cells for producing extra electricity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultraviolet spectrum downshifting in polymer nanocomposite films for the enhancement of optoelectronic devices

Darwish,

Sarkisov,

Patel

et al. 2023

Photonic Fiber and Crystal Devices: Advances in Materials and Innovations in Device Applications XVII

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We report on polymer nanocomposite films with ultraviolet (UV) spectrum down-shifting that can be transferred using the open-air multi-beam multi-target pulsed laser deposition (MBMT-PLD) on opto-electronic devices, such as photovoltaic (PV) cells, for the enhancement of their performance. The nanocomposites were made of the space-grade polymer CORIN impregnated with nanoparticles (NPs) of rare-earth (RE) doped compound NaYF 4 : Eu 3+ . NPs had a peak of down-shifted photoluminescence (PL) at 623 nm and a PL quantum yield (PLQE) of ~ 50%. The enhancement of the coated PV cells was two-fold: (a) protection from harmful solar UV radiation and (b) the increase of the PV conversion efficiency. We describe the results of characterization of the NPs using dynamic light scattering, X-ray diffraction, and optical spectroscopy. The nanocomposite films were deposited on Silicon heterojunction (SHJ), Copper-Indium-Gallium-Selenide (CIGS) and inverted metamorphic multijunction (IMM) solar cells. The cells were exposed to 365-nm UV radiation from a light emitting diode (LED). The I-V characteristics of the cells were measured with a solar simulator using AM0 filter. The proposed films improved UV stability of all three cell types: the power degradation significantly slowed down, CIGSs (by half). The proposed films have great commercial potential, especially for the applications to space power.

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LISA-T part three: The design and space environments testing of a thin-film power generation and communication array

Cited by 8 publications

References 30 publications

Initial steps towards a robotic solution for the manufacturing and assembly of thin-film space solar arrays

Initial steps towards a robotic solution for the manufacturing and assembly of thin-film space solar arrays

Influences of temperature on the property of ITO/Teflon/Ag in atomic oxygen environment

Ultraviolet spectrum downshifting in polymer nanocomposite films for the enhancement of optoelectronic devices

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