Low Temperature Low Intensity Effects in III-V Photovoltaic Devices for Deep Space Missions

Experimental results of GaAs solar cells tested under deep space conditions are presented. The impact of low intensity and low temperature (LILT) conditions on the device performance characteristics, in particular the fill factor, is discussed. Special consideration is given to minority carrier effects under LILT conditions, in particular tunnel assisted recombination in the space charge region and temperature dependent effective lifetime effects. The paper closes with a review of the elimination and mitigation of LILT effects by dedicated solar cell device design.