Abstract
The pace of development for new photovoltaic structures such as the inverted meta-morphic (IMM) IIIV cells, exceeds the pace at which spectrally matched, calibrated, solar cells can be created due to the infrequent opportunities of balloon or space based calibration. As such, laboratories must rely on previous generation AM0 calibrated cells and make appropriate corrections. Equally challenging is measuring the same cells in space without a controlled laboratory environment. It is within this context, the 3rd Forward Technology Solar Cell Experiment (FTSCE III), measured three, four and five junction advanced technology solar cells in space. This report compares the beginning-of-life in-flight measurements with the laboratory measurements made before flight.
Highlights
The technique for AM0 calibration of solar cells was to measure cells under near AM0 conditions on a high altitude balloon (~35km) or aircraft
These practices have proven to be relatively successful substantially due the fact that all cells grown on germanium substrates had very similar spectral response, and beginning-of-life (BOL) cells behave as two-junction cells with respect to current matching, because the Ge cell has a large amount of excess current
It is within this context a space solar cell experiment was flown on the International Space Station (ISS) with three and four junction inverted meta-morphic (IMM) cells as well as five-junction semiconductor bonded cells
Summary
The technique for AM0 calibration of solar cells was to measure cells under near AM0 conditions on a high altitude balloon (~35km) or aircraft. Each sub cell has a narrower spectral response, making it more difficult to rely on calibration standards of previous generation cell types It is within this context a space solar cell experiment was flown on the International Space Station (ISS) with three and four junction IMM cells as well as five-junction semiconductor bonded cells. The 3rd Forward Technology Solar Cell Experiment (FTSCE III) was deployed during the Space Shuttle STS-134 mission in May 2011, and was part of a lager mission known as the 8th Materials on the International Space Station Experiment, MISSE-8. This experiment recorded current vs voltage (I-V) curves and environmental conditions during each orbit. The particular cells highlighted in this paper were very stable over time
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