MICROELECTRONIC SPACE POWER SUPPLIES

摘要

With the current trend for smaller more efficient spacecraft and even nanosatellites, the development of devices designed to meet the unique power requirements of this new class of spacecraft is warranted. A device that is solar-powered and can provide uninterruptible microelectronic power in a variety of illumination conditions is particularly attractive. An example of such a device is an Integrated Power Supply (IPS). An IPS combines a photovoltaic power generation with lithium ion energy storage. A power supply of this kind could be used to power small stand-alone or distributed spacecraft systems or even serve as main power source in the case of a nanosatellite. A prototype device that combines a small-area GaAs monolithically integrated photovoltaic module (MIM) with a thin film lithium-ion battery is currently being flown aboard the Starshine 3 atmospheric research satellite project.