Thermal stability of gallium arsenide solar cells

Nikola Papež; Ľubomír Škvarenina; Pavel Tofel; Dinara Sobola

doi:10.1117/12.2292673

1 December 2017 Thermal stability of gallium arsenide solar cells

Nikola Papež, Ľubomír Škvarenina, Pavel Tofel, Dinara Sobola

Proceedings Volume 10603, Photonics, Devices, and Systems VII; 1060313 (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2292673
Event: Photonics Prague 2017, 2017, Prague, Czech Republic

Abstract

This article summarizes a measurement of gallium arsenide (GaAs) solar cells during their thermal processing. These solar cells compared to standard silicon cells have better efficiency and high thermal stability. However, their use is partly limited due to high acquisition costs. For these reasons, GaAs cells are deployed only in the most demanding applications where their features are needed, such as space applications. In this work, GaAs solar cells were studied in a high temperature range within 30-650 °C where their functionality and changes in surface topology were monitored. These changes were recorded using an electron microscope which determined the position of the defects; using an atomic force microscope we determined the roughness of the surface and an infrared camera that showed us the thermal radiated places of the defected parts of the cell. The electrical characteristics of the cells during processing were determined by its current-voltage characteristics. Despite the occurrence of subtle changes on the solar cell with newly created surface features after 300 °C thermal processing, its current-voltage characteristic remained without a significant change.

Citation Download Citation

Nikola Papež, Ľubomír Škvarenina, Pavel Tofel, and Dinara Sobola "Thermal stability of gallium arsenide solar cells", Proc. SPIE 10603, Photonics, Devices, and Systems VII, 1060313 (1 December 2017); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2292673

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available