Evaluation of III-V/Si Multi-Junction Solar Cells Potential for Space

Abstract : Hybrid III-V/Si multi-junction solar cells, which combine efficient III-V top cells with a silicon bottom cell, the most wide-spread photovoltaic material, offer great opportunities. Recent advances in this field have shown that mechanically stacked or wafer bonded III-V/Si can reach similar AM1.5g efficiencies than the standard GaInP/GaAs/Ge space triplejunction solar cells. In this study, we review the potential of this new hybrid III-V/Si cell technology for space applications. The first experimental results of wafer bonded 2-terminal GaInP/GaAs/Si solar cell electron irradiation will be presented. The BOL and EOL (1 MeV electrons) performances will be characterized under AM0 spectrum, and the radiation tolerance will be compared with single-junction silicon and standard Ge based triple-junction.