Radiation-Resistant Nanoscopically Enhanced Solar Cell Coverglass

Hybrid Plastics proposes to develop a low cost, and versatile method for shielding commercial and military single crystal solar cells from damage against proton and electron radiation. Hybrid Plastics also proposes to develop a related coating variant for the protection of thin film photovoltaics against atomic oxygen, vacuum ultraviolet radiation and improved voltage stand-off. The technical approach utilizes metallized nanoscopic polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes as conformal coatings on solar cell surfaces. Such coatings would permit spacecraft designers to increase duty cycles while operating in half-geo orbits. Hybrid Plastics proposes to conduct fundamental radiation and environmental testing to determine shielding effectiveness. Hybrid Plastics also proposed to carry-out processing science with the goal of enabling low-cost spray application of the coatings.