Radiation response of InP/Si and InGaP/GaAs space solar cells

An analysis of the radiation response of state-of-the-art InP/Si, InGaP, and dual junction (DJ) InGaP/GaAs space solar cells under both electron and proton irradiated is presented. The degradation data are modeled using the theory of displacement damage dose. For each technology, a characteristic curve which describes the cell degradation in any radiation environment is determined, and the characteristic curves are used to compare the radiation resistance of the different technologies on an absolute scale. The radiation data are used as input to a code which predicts the end-of-life (EOL) performance of a solar panel in earth orbit. The results show that in orbits outside the earth's radiation belts, the high-efficiency DJ InGaP/GaAs solar panels provide the highest EOL specific power. However, in orbits which pass through the belts, the radiation hard InP/Si panels provide the highest specific power by as much as 30%.