Effect of space radiation on CTJ new version multijunction solar cells

Abstract

The photovoltaic solar array is the main source of power in satellites because of its high reliability, robustness, cost effectiveness and environment friendliness. In the satellite solar array, Watts/m2 is a very important parameter because any reduction in the area of the solar array leads to reduced weight and increased mission life. Similarly, lower $/Watt reduces the cost of satellites. In order to achieve this goal, there should not be any compromise on the performance of the solar cells. CESI Italy has developed a new version of multijunction solar cells with lower cost (CTJ-LC) without compromising on the performance. In space, particulate radiation is one of the major threats on the performance of solar cells. The radiation induces the defects in the solar cells and reduces the performance. In this paper, performance study after radiation exposure is made on these low-cost solar cells by using different characterization techniques and compared with the performance of the standard multijunction solar cells. The details of characterization and test results are presented in this paper.