Development of Vertical Multijunction Solar Cells for Spacecraft Primary Power.
Abstract
During the first half of this program to develop the vertical multijunction solar cell, new silicon technologies were developed so that three types of 2000 junction per cm packing density, vertical multijunction solar cells can be made. The new technologies include: (1) large area electron beam pattern generation, (2) orientation dependent etching, (3) epitaxial silicon refill of deep grooves, and (4) diffusion in deep grooves. Based upon the technology development achieved and the proposed VMJ cell designs, two types of cells were selected for continuing development. A few preliminary, low efficiency cells were fabricated. A small modeling effort was also undertaken to answer specific questions relevant to cell fabrication. Based upon the results obtained during this half of the program, the VMJ solar cell, although requiring very advanced fabrication techniques, is a viable device for spacecraft power in the future. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1974
- Accession Number
- ADA001084
Entities
People
- Pradeep Shah
- Rod F. Hotz
- Ronald K. Smeltzer
Organizations
- Texas Instruments