Structural Failures in Light-weight Solar Cell Arrays under Thermal Cycling

Several different types of small silicon solar cell arrays mounted on lightweight honeycomb panels and on flexible substrates were subjected to long-term thermal cycling tests between -160 and 600C in dry nitrogen. Other tests included immersion in liquid nitrogen and vibration fatigue tests in excess of one million cycles. The arrays experienced a reduction in output caused by contact failure, fracture in the silicon and cover slide, and disintegration of the honeycomb. Failure modes caused by different cell and interconnect constructions are compared.