High-power, low-weight, flexible thin film photovoltaics for space application

英国在空间技术的设计和制造方面享有世界一流的声誉。一个新的国家空间学院今年已经启动，以帮助提高英国科学和工程专业知识的规模和质量。该提案强烈支持英国空间目录，这是一个由代表和支持英国航天界的八个团体组成的组织，其中包括技术战略委员会，该委员会表示“英国航天工业已经聚集在一起，提出了一项雄心勃勃的20年战略，到2030年占据全球空间市场的10%，价值400亿英镑，并在此过程中创造10万个英国就业机会”。英国拥有一些空间应用领域的领先公司，例如；Inmarsat、Rolls Royce、Logica、Vega Space、Astrium、Qioptiq Space Technology和Surrey Satellite Technology Limited。后两家公司强烈支持本提案中详细的研究，并都提供了支持声明。该提案旨在为大面积阵列提供一种替代光伏技术，并首次报道将薄膜碲化镉（CdTe）直接沉积在钢化掺铈微片玻璃（CMG）上，明确地通过逐步减少系统重量来显着增加比功率。Qioptiq空间技术CMG微片玻璃经过优化，以匹配基于砷化镓（GaAs）的空间太阳能电池的热膨胀系数（CTE）。由于CdTe CTE几乎与GaAs相同，选择CMG对于防止在空间PV暴露的严重热梯度下分层是理想的。这种冒险的方法，使用CMG作为辐射屏障和衬底，将通过5 x 5 cm2沉积设备的特性来证明，并最终在太阳能研究中心（CSER）中试金属有机化学气相沉积（MOCVD）系统上扩展到10 x 20 cm2。该提案的内容和愿景将为英国蓬勃发展的航天工业做出重大贡献。项目成功的关键是研究成果的传播和影响途径；这将通过定期向潜在的开发人员指导小组（工业专家）报告和反馈以及有针对性的新闻发布来确保。该提案为英国研究提供了影响空间光伏市场的机会，既可以通过对新兴知识产权的许可，也可以通过制造最终产品，在当前的经济环境下更令人兴奋。

The UK has a world class reputation for design and manufacture of space based technologies. A new National Space Academy has been launched this year to help boost the size and quality of the UK's science and engineering expertise. The proposal supports strongly The UK Space Directory, an organisation of eight groups representing and supporting the UK space community and including the Technology Strategy Board that state "the UK Space Industry has come together to propose an ambitious 20 year strategy to capture 10% of the global space market, £40 billion, by 2030 and in doing so create 100,000 UK jobs". The UK houses some of the leading companies in space applications such as; Inmarsat, Rolls Royce, Logica, Vega Space, Astrium, Qioptiq Space Technology and Surrey Satellite Technology Limited. The latter two companies strongly back the research detailed within this proposal and have both provided satements of support.This proposal seeks to offer an alternative PV technology for large area arrays and to be the first to report thin film cadmium telluride (CdTe) deposited directly onto toughened cerium-doped microsheet glass (CMG), explicitly targeting a significant increase in specific power by a step-change reduction of system weight. The Qioptiq Space Technology CMG microsheet glass is optimised to match the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of gallium arsenide (GaAs) based space solar cells. With the CdTe CTE almost identical to that of GaAs the choice of CMG is ideal for the prevention of delamination under the severe thermal gradients to which space PV is exposed. This adventurous approach, using the CMG as both the radiation barrier and substrate, will be proven by characterisation of 5 x 5 cm2 deposited devices and finally scaled to 10 x 20 cm2 on the Centre for Solar Energy Research (CSER) pilot metalorganic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) system.This proposal has the content and vision to make a significant contribution to the UK's flourishing space industry. Key to the success of the project will be the dissemination and pathways to impact of the research outcomes; this will be ensured through regular reporting to and feedback from a steering group of potential exploiters-Industrial experts and through targeted press releases. This proposal offers UK research the chance to impact the space PV market either through licencing of the arising IP and more excitingly in the current economic climate through manufacture of the final product.