Non-empirical prediction of solar cell degradation in space

Abstract

We describe a way to obtain the degradation, induced by proton and electron irradiations, of solar cell parameters (short-circuit current, open-circuit voltage and maximum power) versus fluence, directly from the calculation of the characteristics of the cell and of the irradiation-induced recombination centres. The calculation can be performed for any energy of the irradiating particle and for any specific thicknesses and doping levels of the base and emitters. The validity of this approach is illustrated in the case of GaAs cells of different origins and extended to GaInP cells. It will allow us to deduce the degradation of multijunction cells.

Modelling of solar cell degradation in space

“…Studies necessary to get all the necessary data (in unirradiated as well as irradiated materials) for GaAs and GaInP materials have been systematically performed over years: from 1985 to 2005 for GaAs [1][2][3][4][6][7][8]12,19,20,[22][23][24] and from 1998 to 2003 for GaInP [2,5,7,8,[18][19][20]23]. The DLTS technique provides only an order of magnitude for s (through extrapolation to infinite temperature T of the plot log e n versus 1/T determined in a narrow temperature range).…”

The window layers effect on the hardness improvement of space solar cells exposed to the 1 MeV electron irradiations

“…The calculated effective hetero-interface recombination velocity S n e f f assumes that the window layer effectively passive the solar cell front surface by reducing surface recombi- Table 1 Physical parameter values of p − AlGaAs − p + /n − GaAs cell (Makham et al 2005) nation at the emitter surface of the solar cells without absorbing the useful light required for the device and that the large band discontinuities at the hetero-interface provide a great potential barrier for the minority carriers, as it is illustrate in Fig. 1, and then well improving the performance of the solar cell (Jain and Landis 1991;Nelson 2003).…”

“…The parameters of the studied cell are listed in Table 1 below (Makham et al 2005). The knowledge of J exp SC0 and V exp OC0 under given illumination, prior irradiation is also necessary in order to derive the minority carrier lifetimes τ p0 and τ n0 .…”

“…The knowledge of J exp SC0 and V exp OC0 under given illumination, prior irradiation is also necessary in order to derive the minority carrier lifetimes τ p0 and τ n0 . Table 2 Calculated degradation parameters of p-AlGaAs-p + /n-GaAs cell (Makham et al 2005)…”

Investigation of proton damage in III-V semiconductors by optical spectroscopy

“…However, the space is a hazardous environment containing energetic particles, which lead to degradation of the solar cell efficiency and hence, a decrease in the lifetime of satellites. Many radiation experiments have been performed towards the understanding of the changes of electrical parameters related to the degradation of solar cells [1][2][3][4][5][6]. A complementary approach to experiment is to simulate the damage on different materials produced by heavy and light ions.…”