Deep-level defects and numerical simulation of radiation damage in GaAs solar cells

A review of the deep-level defects observed in both electron- and proton-irradiated GaAs solar cells is presented. Studies of the effects of periodic and continuouss thermal annealing on the radiation-induced electron and hole traps and the recombination parameters in GaAs solar cells were made for a wide range of electron and proton energies, fluence, annealing temperature and annealing time. A refined model for numerical simulations of the displacement damage was developed for computing the defect density and the cell parameters in the electron- and proton-irradiated GaAs solar cells. excellent agreement was obtained between the calculated values and the experimental data for the proton-irradiated GaAs solar cells.