Evaluation and prediction of the degradation of space Si solar cells induced by a low-earth-orbit radiation environment

Space-graded silicon solar cells are evaluated by 1 MeV and 2 MeV electron-irradiation.The mean degradation of the maximum power(P max) is presented and analyzed.The degradation at both electron energies has been correlated with the displacement damage dose(Dd).A good linearity between the electron Dd and the mean P max degradation is obtained.The concept of Dd has also been used to predict the Si solar cell response in a low-earth-orbit(Altitude 799 km,Inclination 99°) radiation environment,considering the shielded effect of a 120 μm-thick silica coverglass on reducing the radiation.Compared with the on-orbit data from a Si solar array of a Chinese satellite(duration from April 2007 to July 2010),a good match can be found between the on-orbit data and the predicted results using Dd methodology,indicating the method is appropriate for evaluating the radiation damage of the solar cells,and also to provide a new technique for studying radiation effects on the optoelectronic detectors used in many high energy physics applications,where harsh radiation environments produce damage in optoelectronic device materials.