| Issue |
E3S Web Conf.
Volume 16, 2017
11th European Space Power Conference
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Article Number | 03007 | |
| Number of page(s) | 8 | |
| Section | Power Generation: Solar Cells | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20171603007 | |
| Published online | 23 May 2017 | |
Novel Concepts for High-Efficiency Lightweight Space Solar Cells
1 Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Cso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Torino, Italy
2 Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
3 Thales Alenia Space, Strada Antica di Collegno 253, 10146 Torino (Italy)
4 tf2 devices B.V., Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
5 Optoelectronics Research Centre,Tampere University of Technology, Korkeakoulunkatu 3, 33720, Tampere, P.O.Box692, 33101 Tampere, Finland
6 Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University College London, Torrington Place, London WC1E 7JE, United Kingdom
Email: federica.cappelluti@polito.it
Email: g.bauhuis@science.ru.nl
Email: p.mulder@science.ru.nl
Email: j.schermer@science.ru.nl
Email: Giuseppe.Gervasio@thalesaleniaspace.com
Email: gunther.bissels@tf2devices.com
Email: eleni.katsia@tf2devices.com
Email: mircea.guina@tut.fi
Email: huiyun.liu@ucl.ac.uk
One of the key issues in the design and development of a satellite Photovoltaic Assembly (PVA) is the trade-off to be made between the available volume located to the PVA, its mass and the total amount of power that the solar panels have to guarantee to the spacecraft. The development of high-efficiency, flexible, lightweight solar cells is therefore instrumental to the design of future satellites providing enhanced missions and services. Based on the consolidated development of GaAs-based single junction and lattice matched triple-junction solar cells, several research efforts are being pursued worldwide to further increase the efficiency and reduce mass. Promising approaches include thin-film technologies such as Inverted Metamorphic and Epitaxial Lift-Off (ELO), and the use of nanostructures or highly mismatched alloys grown by MBE. We propose here an alternative path towards the development of lightweight GaAs-based solar cells with the potential to exceed the Shockley-Queisser (SQ) limit of single junction cells. Our approach is based on the synergistic combination of thin-film design, quantum dots (QDs) absorption, and photonic nanostructures. Challenges and opportunities offered by the use of QDs are discussed. A cost-effective and scalable fabrication process including ELO technology and nanoimprint lithography is outlined. Finally, a proof-of-concept design, based on rigorous electromagnetic and physics-based simulations, is presented. Efficiency higher than 30% and weight reduction close to 90% - owing to the substrate removal - makes the proposed device to rank record power-to-weight ratio, with the potential to become a cost-effective, attractive option for next generation space solar cells.
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2017
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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