Authors:

Cole Lush

Date Created:

Not specified

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About Paper:

In outer space, the survivability of photovoltaic cells critically impacts the success of long-term missions, by ensuring that enough power is always available to run computations, operate equipment, and collect data. Ionizing radiation is a key factor that can degrade the performance of space photovoltaics, but different environments can have variable effects on different photovoltaic cells, making a predictive understanding of performance in targeted environments highly complex yet consequential. Conventional photovoltaic systems rely on production methods and materials which have been in use for decades, but also can prove insufficient in terms of their efficiency and adequate resistance to the space radiation environment. Furthermore, including radiation shielding can make the launch cost prohibitive. Thus, a preferred approach is to identify materials with greater inherent radiation tolerance. To address this need, this study aims to identify lightweight, cost- effective, radiation-hardened alternatives to currently operating photovoltaic systems. Focusing on the nonionizing energy loss of different materials, the SR-NIEL 7 tool was used to simulate different materials and their reactions to different particles and doses. This data was then used in the OMERE 5.6 tool to effectively simulate a mission in geosynchronous orbit (GEO) as a reference and better understand the structural defects produced via displacement damage. The results describe which photovoltaic materials are projected to perform well in certain particle environments. This information could provide potential insight into which materials could be further considered for study, specifically focusing on the feasibility of implementing such materials into actual space systems.

Source:

Purdue University / 2023

Topics:

No topics listed

Co-authors:

Cole Lush