Title :
Environmental testing of inverted metamorphic solar cells for space
Author :
Rehder, E.M. ; Jun, Byung-Jun ; Chiu, Pi-Feng ; Wierman, S. ; Edmondson, K. ; Liu, X.-Q. ; Mesropian, S. ; Pien, P. ; Boisvert, J. ; Karam, N.H.
Author_Institution :
Spectrolab, Inc., Sylmar, CA, USA
Abstract :
Inverted metamorphic (IMM) solar cells are being pursued for space applications. This work examines their extended performance under key environmental conditions. Electron irradiation with 1 MeV electrons found 81% of the power remained after exposure to 1e15/ cm2 fluence. Test strings mounted on rigid panels were subjected to 11,000 thermal cycles without electrical degradation. Thermal soak testing at 250 °C identified 1% of efficiency loss, equivalent to production devices. No performance loss was found after 30 days of humidity exposure. These tests verify the integrity of IMM devices, while matching measurements by NREL confirm the quality of Spectrolab´s IMM testing method.
Keywords :
aerospace testing; environmental testing; humidity; solar cells; IMM solar cells; NREL; Spectrolab IMM testing method; electron irradiation; electron volt energy 1 MeV; environmental testing; humidity exposure; inverted metamorphic solar cells; key environmental conditions; rigid panels; space applications; temperature 250 degC; thermal cycles; thermal soak testing; Degradation; Humidity; Performance evaluation; Photovoltaic cells; Radiation effects; Temperature measurement; Testing; environmental; humidity; inverted metamorphic; radiation; thermal;
Conference_Titel :
Photovoltaic Specialist Conference (PVSC), 2014 IEEE 40th
Conference_Location :
Denver, CO
DOI :
10.1109/PVSC.2014.6924887
