Proton radiation resilience of CdSeTe photovoltaics: High predicted end-of-life performance for space applications
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Two types of cadmium selenide telluride (CdSeTe) photovoltaic devices have been exposed to high-energy (150–1500 keV) protons with fluences ranging from 1 × 1011 to 9 × 1013 cm−2. Pre- and post-irradiation current density vs voltage characteristic data were collected and analyzed. Arsenic-doped CdSeTe devices retained 80% of the power conversion efficiency (PCE) relative to control devices after exposure to 1012 cm−2 650 keV protons, while copper-doped CdSeTe devices retained about 95% of the control PCE under the same irradiation condition. Displacement damage dose analysis coupled with simulations for duration-dependent performance in a medium Earth orbit space mission revealed superior PCE remaining factors, indicating greater resilience to proton bombardment than state-of-the-art multijunction III-V based space photovoltaic technologies.
Source: APL Energy
DOI: 10.1063/5.0282712
Authors: Zachary W. Zawisza, Scott Lambright, Aesha P. Patel, Sabin Neupane, Tamara Isaacs-Smith, Patrick Chen, Molly Smith, Robert Snuggs, Samuel S. Erickson, James Becker, Ebin Bastola, Abasi Abudulimu, Richard Irving, Adam B. Phillips, Michael J. Heben, Yanfa Yan, Zhaoning Song, Randy J. Ellingson
Language: English
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4414782819