Development of irradiation methods and degradation modeling for state-of-the-art space solar cells

Abstract

Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) together with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has developed an insitu evaluation technique for understanding radiation response of space solar cells, by which the electrical characteristics of solar cells can be measured under AM0 light illumination during proton/electron irradiation experiments (Simultaneous method). Using the simultaneous method, we revealed the radiation degradation of multi-junction solar cells such as InGaP/GaAs/Ge triple junction (3J) solar cells. A modeling of the radiation degradation of 3J solar cells based on the Non-Ionizing Energy Loss (NIEL) concept was established. Flexible multi-junction solar cells are under development for space applications.