Irradiation and measurement of GaAs based solar cells at low intensity, low temperature (LILT) conditions

Walters, R. J.*; Harris, R. D.*; Imaizumi, Mitsuru*; Lorentzen, J. R.*; Messenger, S. R.*; Tischler, J. G.*; Oshima, Takeshi; Sato, Shinichiro; Sharps, R. P.*; Fatemi, N. S.*

The performance of triple junction InGaP/GaAs/Ge space solar cells was studied following high energy electron irradiation at low temperature. Cell characterization was carried out at the irradiation temperature while using low intensity illumination, and, as such, these conditions reflect those found for deep space, solar powered missions that are far from the sun. Cell characterization consisted of I-V measurements and quantum efficiency measurements. The low temperature irradiations caused substantial degradation that differs in some ways from that seen after room temperature irradiations. The short circuit current degrades more at low temperature while the open circuit voltage degrades more at room temperature. A room temperature anneal after the low temperature irradiation produced a substantial recovery in the degradation.