ALD-Enhanced Durability of Lightweight Co-Cured Solar Array Panels (P-DoD13-002-1)

ABSTRACT: The promise of lightweight, flexible and ubiquitous solar power depends greatly on the form factors available, their ruggedness and their cost. Nascent technologies based on organic active materials require substantial isolation from moisture vapor and oxygen to enable peak performance and lifetime. All the while, the incorporation of such devices into aero-platforms like UAVs and high altitude airships further drives requirements for low-mass and surface smoothness to reduce drag. In this project, we will optimize the ultra-barrier coating system identified in Phase I to minimize its mass, to optimize and quantify is barrier characteristics, to demonstrate ruggedness and durability consistent with the needs of the application, and ultimately to integrate it into sub-scale and full-size wingskin hardware for demonstration purposes. BENEFIT: The promise of co-cured solar wingskins is the enhancement of flight-time endurance enabled by the embedded solar array, which is capable of re-charging onboard batteries during flight. For UAV platforms that require re-fueling at regular intervals, the incorporation of solar cells into the wingskin can allow a unit to remain in its flight path for substantially longer than baseline, potentially limiting the number of planes coming and going into a specific area. The output of this Phase II effort is an ultra-barrier encapsulation and co-curing technology that enables very lightweight photovoltaic arrays to be incorporated into UAV wingskins. The encapsulation technology meets the mass needs of solar-enhanced UAVs, and meets the ultra-barrier needs of organic electronics.