Very High Specific Power ELO Solar Cells (&gt;3 kW/kg) for UAV, Space, and Portable Power Applications

Cardwell, D. W.; Kirk, Alexander P.; Stender, Christopher L.; Wibowo, Andree; Tuminello, F.; Drees, Martin; Chan, Ray; Osowski, M.L.; Pan, N.

doi:10.1109/pvsc.2017.8366552

Cited by 21 publications

(24 citation statements)

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“…As expected for an ultralight solar cell, this is more than three times higher than for conventional space solar cells even on thinned substrates 1,4–6,31 (see Figure 9B). However, the IMM solar cells from MicroLink Devices, 9 which to our knowledge has not been tested after irradiation, and the solar cell from Sharp 3 have a slightly higher power‐to‐mass ratio BOL of the bare solar cell. After electron irradiation the power‐to‐mass‐ratio of the Gen II IMM3J ELO reaches 2.6 W/g (see Figure 9B), which is already the 2nd highest EOL power‐to‐mass ratio reported to our knowledge.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…We concentrate on thin‐film and thinned Ge substrate‐based space triple junction solar cells with published efficiency and weight. The Gen III IMM3J ELO solar cell reaches almost the BOL efficiency of the 3‐junction ELO solar cell from MicroLink Devices with a BOL design 9 and exceeds the efficiencies of the Azur 3G30 advanced 31 and SolAero ZTJ 5 space solar cells (Figure 9A). After irradiation with an electron fluence of 10 15 cm −2 the Gen II IMM3J ELO solar cell is ~2% abs below the 3‐junction space solar cell with the highest efficiency 6 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…(A) Efficiency under AM0 spectrum in dependence of the 1‐MeV electron fluence for Gen II (blue diamonds), Gen III (red squares) and simulated (orange line) IMM3J ELO solar cells in comparison to triple junction thin‐film solar cells from MicroLink Devices [9] and Sharp [3] as well as to triple junction substrate‐based space solar cells from SolAero Technologies [5], Spectrolab [6], and Azur Space [31]. (B) Power‐to‐mass ratio in dependence of the electron fluence for Gen II (blue diamonds), Gen III (red squares) and simulated (orange line) IMM3J ELO solar cell in comparison to triple junction solar cells from MicroLink Devices [9], SolAero Technologies [5], Spectrolab [6], Sharp [3, 32], and Azur Space [31]…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thin, flexible multi‐junction solar cells with high efficiencies without irradiation, that is, Begin‐of‐Life (BOL), were already demonstrated by different research groups (e.g., Geisz et al 7 and Kim et al 8 ). Cardwell et al from Micro‐Link Devices presented a triple junction GaInP/GaAs/GaInAs solar cell with a BOL power‐to‐mass ratio >3 W/g under AM0 spectrum 9 . Inverted metamorphic triple‐junction solar cells from Sharp 3,10,11 reached efficiencies above 26% after electron irradiation with 1 × 10 15 cm −3 (1 MeV) electrons.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Improvements in ultra‐light and flexible epitaxial lift‐off GaInP/GaAs/GaInAs solar cells for space applications

Schön

Bissels²,

Mulder³

et al. 2022

Progress in Photovoltaics

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A thin, lightweight, flexible solar cell is developed that maximizes the power-to-mass ratio under AM0 illumination and has a competitive efficiency after typical high energy electron irradiation. The inverted metamorphic triple junction (IMM3J) solar cells with Ga 0.51 In 0.49 P/GaAs/Ga 0.73 In 0.27 As subcells are grown on GaAs substrates and have a total epitaxy thickness of about 10 μm. After epitaxial growth, the inverted layer stack is metallized, with the metal serving as back-contact, back reflector and support layer for the ultra-thin solar cells before the GaAs substrate is separated by an epitaxial lift-off (ELO) process. The nondestructive nature of the ELO process makes multiple reuses of the GaAs substrate possible. The solar cell structure is optimized for maximum EOL efficiency, that is, after 1-MeV electron irradiation with a fluence of 1 Â 10 15 cm À2 , by means of simulations that include the irradiation induced defects in the various semiconductor alloys. Assuming realistic charge carrier lifetime in the materials, we predict a near-term efficiency potential for the IMM3J ELO of 30.9% under AM0 illumination before and 26.7% after irradiation. Several IMM3J ELO solar cells with an area of approximately 20 cm 2 from different development stages were tested under AM0 illumination. The newest solar cells (generation III) with a mass density of only 13.2 mg/cm 2 reach conversion efficiencies of 30.2% at 25 C. The resulting power-to-mass ratio of 3.0 W/g for the bare solar cell is one of the highest published ratios. After irradiation, a conversion efficiency of 25.4% was measured for "generation II" devices under AM0 illumination, which corresponds to a power-to-mass ratio of 2.6 W/g. IMM3J ELO solar cells from "generation I" were also tested for mechanical stability as "de-risking" test of this new cell technology. No degradation of the cell performance was found after dipping the cell in liquid N 2 and then heating up to 25 C for five times, despite of strong deformation of the flexible cell during the temperature cycle.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Improvements in ultra‐light and flexible epitaxial lift‐off GaInP/GaAs/GaInAs solar cells for space applications

Schön

Bissels²,

Mulder³

et al. 2022

Progress in Photovoltaics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…3 Laboratory state-of-theart high-performance inorganic III-V triple-junction GaInP/GaAs/GaInAs thin-film solar panels exceeded 3 W g À1 but strongly rely on precious materials and energy-intensive manufacturing. 4,5 The emerging technologies of (hybrid) perovskite [6][7][8] and organic photovoltaics 9,10 (HOPVs) with certified record power conversion efficiencies for single-absorber cells currently reaching 25.2% and 17.35%, respectively became promising alternatives within the last years. [11][12][13] Their chemical versatility provides a large potential for the optimization of efficiency and stability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perovskite and Organic Solar Cells on a Rocket Flight

Reb

Böhmer

Predeschly

et al. 2020

Joule

129

119

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We report on an experiment with perovskite and organic solar cells on board of a rocket flight, reaching satellite altitudes for the first time. The electrical characterization during flight demonstrated in situ their functionality and power generation under space conditions. Perovskite and organic solar cells exceeded power densities of 14 and 7 mW cm À2 , respectively, highlighting their potential for an application in space.

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