Investigation of Solar Cells Power Degradation Due to Electrostatic Discharge

Satellites are surrounded with protons, electrons and heavy charged particles. Space radiation impact on satellite sub-systems cause several anomalies which are important problem for satellite designers. Until recently, the majority of spacecraft primary power systems used solar arrays and rechargeable batteries to supply 28 V. For low-inclination spacecraft, 28 V systems have not been observed to arc. As the power requirements for spacecraft increased, however, high-voltage solar arrays were baselined to minimize total mass and increase power production efficiency. With the advent of 100 V systems in the late 1980s, arcing began to be observed on a number of spacecraft. The mechanism proposed in this paper, described electrical and physical degradation of solar cells due to electrostatic discharge anomalies on satellites. The cell was characterized again after arcing to determine the change in efficiency. This paper details the process for designing the circuit to create the arcing, and the different setups used to degrade the cells electrically and physically. It also describes the final setups to be used in space laboratory. This model is designed using Matlab and SPENVIS. Identification and simulation this mechanism is an important step in solar array design for space application.