Radiation damage in InP solar cells

Abstract

The effects of radiation on InP solar cells is reviewed. Included are: a performance overview comparing InP, GaAs and silicon cells under laboratory irradiations, space flight data, defect studies using both electron paramagnetic resonance and deep level transient spectroscopy, carrier removal, thermal and minority carrier injection annealing and lifetime and diffusion length radiation damage coefficients. A discussion of the primary reason for the superior performance, under irradiation, of InP solar cells is followed by an exposition of the barrier problems requiring solution before InP can be considered for widespread use in space.