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Amorphous silicon thin films: the ultimate lightweight space solar cell
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Schurig, H. H. Kruer, M. A. Bianchi, M. A. Vendura Jr., G. J. Roth, J. A. |
| Copyright Year | 1994 |
| Description | Progress is reported with respect to the development of thin film amorphous (alpha-Si) terrestrial solar cells for space applications. Such devices promise to result in very lightweight, low cost, flexible arrays with superior end of life (EOL) performance. Each alpha-Si cell consists of a tandem arrangement of three very thin p-i-n junctions vapor deposited between film electrodes. The thickness of this entire stack is approximately 2.0 microns, resulting in a device of negligible weight, but one that must be mechanically supported for handling and fabrication into arrays. The stack is therefore presently deposited onto a large area (12 by 13 in), rigid, glass superstrate, 40 mil thick, and preliminary space qualification testing of modules so configured is underway. At the same time, a more advanced version is under development in which the thin film stack is transferred from the glass onto a thin (2.0 mil) polymer substrate to create large arrays that are truly flexible and significantly lighter than either the glassed alpha-Si version or present conventional crystalline technologies. In this paper the key processes for such effective transfer are described. In addition, both glassed (rigid) and unglassed (flexible) alpha-Si cells are studied when integrated with various advanced structures to form lightweight systems. EOL predictions are generated for the case of a 1000 W array in a standard, 10 year geosynchronous (GEO) orbit. Specific powers (W/kg), power densities (W/sq m) and total array costs ($/sq ft) are compared. |
| File Size | 631534 |
| Page Count | 10 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_19950014099 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t3rv5gn84 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 1994-09-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Energy Production And Conversion Solar Cells Costs Performance Tests Modules Glass Amorphous Silicon Amorphous Materials Crystallinity Thin Films Vapor Deposition Geosynchronous Orbits Silicon Films Technology Utilization Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
