Aluminate-Silicate Based Antifouling Coatings

Not Available Spire Corporation and a subcontractor, Lithium Power Technologies, will develop an integrated power system that will combine state-of-the-art thin film solar cells, thin film batteries, and power conditioning electronics in flexible, lightweight modules. The design will emphasize high specific energy, low cost, wide temperature tolerance, electrical fault tolerance, and resistance to impact from space debris. Phase I will determine the best photovoltaic, thin film battery, and power conditioning approaches through design studies that will identify active and passive materials, electrical and electronic architectures, and find integrated system response under nominal and abnormal operating conditions. Key experiments will determine processing and environmental temperature limits for materials and components, and measure leakage currents and power losses in simple cell-battery and blocking diode circuits. Phase II will address scale-up, and a fully operational system will be built and tested. Spire's demonstrated expertise in space and terrestrial photovoltaics will be complemented by Lithium Power Technologies, a leader in development of rechargeable lithium ion batteries.