NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Thermal stability of GaAs heteroface solar cells with differing contact materialsGaAlAs/GaAs heteroface solar cells used in space offer advantages of higher operating temperatures and recovery from radiation damage using thermal annealing. Elevated temperature experiments were conducted to evaluate the electrical stability of cells with different contact materials. These experiments indicate that for operation of GaAs heteroface solar cells at elevated temperatures, front contact metals must be carefully chosen. The short circuit current varied by only about 3% for cells with Pd/Ag contacts that were heated to 240 C for a total of 500 hours. However, a total decrease in the open circuit voltage of about 20% was observed for these cells. After heating cells to 400 C, large changes in open circuit voltage were observed for cells with Pd/Ag, Pd/Au, Pd, Ag, and Ti contacts; however, preliminary results indicate more stable open circuit voltages for cells with Au, Cr, Zn, and Cr/Au contacts.
Document ID
19820028233
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Friesen, W. J.
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Walker, G. H.
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Conway, E. J.
(NASA Langley Research Center Hampton, VA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 10, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1981
Subject Category
Spacecraft Propulsion And Power
Meeting Information
Meeting: In: Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conference
Location: Atlanta, GA
Start Date: August 9, 1981
End Date: August 14, 1981
Accession Number
82A11768
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available