Experimental Test of Minority Carrier Annealing on Gallium Arsenide Solar Cells Using Forward-Biased Current

摘要

There has been recent interest in providing an on-orbit solar cell annealing capability. Minority carrier injection annealing was examined using a 0.5A/sq cm forward-biased current density on gallium arsenide solar cells in a 90 degree centigrade ambient environment. The cells had been irradiated with 1-Mev electrons for a total fluence of 3El5el/sq cm. When annealing stopped, after 48 hours, the procedure had recovered 30% of the maximum power that was lost due to radiation damage. This procedure may have on-orbit potential.