VERY LARGE SOLAR ARRAYS TO POWER FUTURE SOLAR ELECTRIC PROPULSION SYSTEMS WILL REQUIRE A NEW GENERATION OF…

Public award description

VERY LARGE SOLAR ARRAYS TO POWER FUTURE SOLAR ELECTRIC PROPULSION SYSTEMS WILL REQUIRE A NEW GENERATION OF SOLAR CELLS THAT ARE NOT ONLY HIGH EFFICIENCY, BUT ALSO LIGHT WEIGHT AND SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER COST THAN EXISTING MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS BASED ON GE SUBSTRATES. THE LARGE VOLUME OF SOLAR CELLS REQUIRED FOR INDIVIDUAL MISSIONS (HUNDREDS OF KILOWATTS TO MEGAWATTS) ALSO PRESENTS SIGNIFICANT MANUFACTURING CHALLENGES. MICROLINK DEVICES' MULTIJUNCTION SOLAR CELLS BASED ON EPITAXIAL LIFT OFF (ELO) PROVIDE THE UNIQUE COMBINATION OF HIGH EFFICIENCY, HIGH SPECIFIC POWER, AND LOW COST BY ENABLING REUSE OF THE GAAS SUBSTRATE AFTER LIFT OFF. THE USE OF GAAS SUBSTRATES LEVERAGES A PLATFORM WELL-ESTABLISHED BY THE GAAS IC INDUSTRY AT 6-INCH DIAMETER, WHICH IS ALSO A SIGNIFICANT ENABLER FOR COST REDUCTION AND VOLUME PRODUCTION. LARGER SUBSTRATES NOT ONLY REDUCE EPITAXIAL GROWTH AND FABRICATION COSTS, BUT IMPROVE WAFER UTILIZATION WHEN FABRICATING LARGE-AREA SOLAR CELLS. MICROLINK DEVICES' ELO SOLAR CELLS ARE ALSO HIGHLY FLEXIBLE, WHICH ENABLES NEW APPROACHES FOR PANEL FABRICATION AND DEPLOYMENT.