EFFECTS OF 10 MEV PROTON IRRADIATION OF Ⅲ-Ⅴ SOLAR CELLS

摘要

In this work we present our latest results and analysis of a 10 MeV proton irradiation experiment performed on Ⅲ-Ⅴ solar cells. A set of representative devices were irradiated for different fluences, including lattice-matched GaInP/GaInAs/Ge triple junction, GaInP/Ge double junction, and GaAs and Ge single junction solar cells. The methodology applied included the irradiation of two devices of each type; for a better control of the measurements, non-irradiated devices with the same characteristics of those irradiated were used as reference. The devices were monitored before and after each exposure by in-situ characterization of the electrical response under dark and under illumination using a solar simulator connected to the irradiation chamber through a borosilicate glass window. Ex-situ characterization techniques included dark and 1 sun AM0 illumination Ⅰ-Ⅴ curve and external quantum efficiency measurements. Furthermore, results of the numerical simulation of devices with D-AMPS-1D code are presented in order to give a physical interpretation of the results. DLTS spectroscopy preliminary results for single junction GaAs cells are also presented.