Electrical Characteristics of Silicon Solar Cells at Low Temperatures

Experimentally determined values of open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current, and maximum power for p on n and n on p silicon solar cells are presented for temperatures ranging from -196°C to + 50°C under equivalent space sunlight intensities of 58 mW/cm2 and 268 mW/cm2. An anomalous behavior is observed in the n on p cells at low temperatures; namely, the open-circuit voltage becomes nearly independent of temperature below a transition temperature Tt that depends on the sunlight intensity.     

Minus 35kV Space-Borne Instrument Power Supply

A -35kV power supply has been developed for a plasma experiment on the out-of-ecliptic mission. In addition, an isolation transformer has been developed to provide low voltage power at the -35kV potential. The design features incorporated to produce a spaceflight power supply housed within a 4 × 4 × 2.5 in package are discussed. The supply is powered from an unregulated spacecraft bus and provides a regulated output of -35kV ± 5 percent with less than 0.5 percent ripple over a temperature range -20°C + 60°C. The unit serves as a bias supply with an output current less than 0.5 , ?A. With the supply essentially operating unloaded, 5 percent regulation is achieved by sensing and regulating the first stage of a 12-stage Cockcroft/Walton multiplier. Control of the ac voltage input to the multiplier stack provides the regulation. The isolation transformer utilizes a ferrite u-core with the primary and secondary windings placed on opposite legs for separation. The transformer is encapsulated with the power supply.     

应用LP—MOCVD方法研制InGaAs／InP应变量子阱LD

（在CP—MOCVD生长过程中）本文研究生长温度和生长过程对PN结结位的影响,并用它来控制InGaAs／InP量子阶激光器的p－n结结位,还探讨了在InP材料中使用DEZn和H2S做掺杂源时P型和N型的杂质浓度和PN结控制的条件,得出在0.5％压缩条件下有源区阶层InGaAs和InP的应变量子层激光器。用这一LD结构实现室温脉冲激射时,我们可获得峰值功率为106mW以上、阈值电流密度为2.6kA／cm2的应变三量子阱激光器。     

Stepped Sinewave Inverter

A stepped sinewave dc/ac inverter was analyzed for an inductive load with respect to load current and voltage, harmonics, power factor, and efficiency. This special inverter of high efficiency and low harmonic content is constructed by synthesizing the sinusoidal output by discrete voltage sources, such as storage batteries, solar cell, etc., with electronic switching of the sources at specific time intervals. The switching times are determined for the condition of minimum distortion of the synthesized wave. A 50 W inverter was built and tested to demonstrate this approach.     

Anomalous and Galactic Cosmic Rays at 1 AU During the Cycle 23/24 Solar Minimum

Anomalous cosmic ray (ACR) intensities at 1 AU at solar minimum generally track galactic cosmic ray (GCR) intensities such as those measured by neutron monitors, albeit with differences between solar polarity cycles. The unusual cycle 23/24 solar minimum was long-lasting with very low sunspot numbers and significantly reduced interplanetary magnetic field strength and solar wind dynamic pressure and turbulence, but also featured a heliospheric current sheet tilt that remained high for an extended period. Peak ACR intensities did not recover to the maximum values reached during the last two A>0 solar minima and just barely reached the last A<0 levels. However, GCR intensities in 2009 (neutron monitor rates and also at ～200 MeV/nucleon) were the highest recorded during the last 50 years, indicating their intensities were not as heavily modulated during their transport from the outer heliosphere. This unexpected difference in the behavior of ACRs and GCRs remains unexplained, but suggests that either the ACR source intensity may have weakened since the last A<0 epoch, or perhaps that ACR intensities at 1 AU in the ecliptic may be more sensitive than GCRs to the higher tilt angle. This seems plausible if the ACR source intensity is greater at low latitudes during A<0 cycles, while the GCR distribution at the heliospheric boundary is more uniform in latitude. Shortly after an abrupt increase in the current sheet tilt angle in late 2009, both ACR and GCR intensities showed dramatic decreases, marking the end of solar minimum modulation conditions for this cycle.     

Review of Radiation Damage to Silicon Solar Cells

This paper reviews a large number of silicon solar cell irradiation experiments performed over the last 10 years, including 1-MeV and energy spectrum electron studies, and low-(100-keV) and high-energy (up to 155-MeV) proton studies on bare and covered silicon solar cells of several types. The results of satellite flight experiments on individual solar cells are also presented, as well as data from complete solar arrays and data on the new high-efficiency solar cells. Experimental evidence indicates that the percentage of degradation is smaller in thin solar cells than in thick ones, and that cells with high resistivity (10 ?·cm) degrade less than cells with lower resistivity (1 ?·cm). It is shown that high-efficiency silicon solar cells produced at COMSAT Laboratories and pilot production groups of these cells retain most of their increased power output under irradiation. It is emphasized that all surfaces and edges of the solar cells must be completely shielded from the large flux protons in the space environment. Insufficiencies in the published data are noted in certain areas, and recommendations for additional research are presented. Finally, an extensive bibliography is included.     

A Closely Regulated TWT Converter

The design concept for the traveling wave tube amplifier converter for possible use in the Thermoelectric Outer Planet Spacecraft (TOPS) is presented. An unusual combination of semiconductors and magnetics were utilized to achieve very stable voltage regulation on a number of separate outputs to satisfy the requirements of a high-power traveling wave tube (TWT), and at the same time operate at an efficiency of better than 90 percent from a 30-volt source. The circuitry consists of an output filter, an auxiliary Jensen oscillator driving a high-reactance transformer to provide current limiting to the heater, a variable time delay, a main Jensen oscillator driving the power transformer with a maximum step-up ratio of 120 to 1, and series transistorized post regulators to provide precise voltage adjustment and low output impedance. This paper discusses the design of the high-reactance transformer and the high step-up ratio transformer, as well as the high-voltage series regulators that are limited in range and operate at the top of the unregulated output voltage. Test data is presented, and details of current transients caused by charging the filter circuits, input current ripple, and output voltage ripples are considered. The circuit provides better than 0.5 percent regulation against load change, input voltage change, and over-operating temperature range of from -20 to + 80°C, with output ripple voltage of less than 2 volts peak-to-peak on top of the 3600-Vdc output. The measured efficiency was typically 87 percent. and recommendations are included to improve this to in excess of 90 percent.     

Investigation of MHD power generation with supersonic non-equilibrium RF discharge

Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power generation with supersonic non-equilibrium plasma is demonstrated. Capacitively coupled radio frequency (RF) discharge (6 MHz, maximum continual power output of 200 W) was adopted to ionize the Mach number 3.5 (650 m/s), 0.023 kg/m3 airflow. In a MHD channel of 16 mm × 10 mm × 20 mm, MHD open voltage of 10 V is realized in the magnetic field of 1.25 T, and power of 0.12 mW is extracted steadily and con-tinuously in the magnetic field of 1 T. The reasons for limited power generation are proposed as:low conductivity of RF discharge; large touch resistance between MHD electrode and plasma;strong current eddies due to flow boundary layer. In addition, the cathode voltage fall is too low to have obvious effects on MHD power generation.     

The Inner Heliosphere - Outer Heliosphere Comparison for Cosmic Ray Modulation

This paper summarizes cosmic ray data on both galactic and anomalous particles in the inner and outer heliosphere near the sunspot minimum in 1995 and 1996 at the end of solar cycle 22. These data come from the IMP spacecraft in the inner heliosphere and the Voyager and Pioneer spacecraft in the outer heliosphere. In the inner heliosphere, the cosmic ray intensities at all energies in 1996 have recovered to almost the same maximum values they had at the last sunspot minimum in 1987 and the intensities are an even closer match to those observed two 11-year cycles earlier in 1976. In the outer heliosphere beyond 40 AU the intensity recovery is very slow and the intensities at all energies and for all species are almost constant in 1995-96 indicating that little further recovery can be expected in this cycle. The intensity of galactic cosmic rays in 1996 is only 0.3-0.5 of that observed at the same radius of 42 AU in 1987 and for anomalous cosmic rays this ratio is only 0.1-0.2. This suggests a dramatically different entry of particles into the heliosphere in the two cycles for both types of particles as well as significantly different particle flow characteristics in the outer heliosphere. The net result of these different characteristics is that near the Earth only a relatively small intensity difference is observed between successive 11-year solar cycles whereas in the outer heliosphere the differences between cycles become very large and may even dominate the overall modulation.     

AC/DC converter topologies for the Space Station

A new class of AC/DC converter topologies (Type-1 converters) is described, suitable for use in an advanced single-phase sine-wave voltage, high-frequency power distribution system, of the type that was proposed for a 20 kHz Space Station primary electrical power distribution system. The converter comprises a transformer, a resonant network, a current controller, a diode rectifier, and an output filter. The input AC voltage source is converted into a sinusoidal current source using the resonant network. The output of this current source is rectified by the diode rectifier and is controlled by the current controller. The controlled rectified current is then filtered by the output filter to obtain a constant voltage across the load. Three distinct converter topologies, Type-1A, Type-1B, and Type 1-C, are described, and their performance characteristics are presented. All three types have a close-to-unity rated power factor (greater than 0.98), low total harmonic distortion in input current (less than 5%), and high conversion efficiency (greater than 96%)     

Sources of Solar Wind at Solar Minimum: Constraints from Composition Data

In this discussion of observational constraints on the source regions and acceleration processes of solar wind, we will focus on the ionic composition of the solar wind and the distribution of charge states of heavy elements such as oxygen and iron. We first focus on the now well-known bi-modal nature of solar wind, which dominates the heliosphere at solar minimum: Compositionally cool solar wind from polar coronal holes over-expands, filling a much larger solid angle than the coronal holes on the Sun. We use a series of remote and in-situ characteristics to derive a global geometric expansion factor of?～5. Slower, streamer-associated wind is located near the heliospheric current sheet with a width of 10–20°, but in a well-defined band with a geometrically small transition width. We then compute charge states under the assumption of thermal electron distributions and temperature, velocity, and density profiles predicted by a recent solar wind model, and conclude that the solar wind originates from a hot source at around 1 million?K, characteristic of the closed corona.     

RFOG中LD光源驱动电路设计

谐振式光纤陀螺具有良好的发展前景,光源在系统中有着很重要的作用.由于惯导系统工作在多变的外界环境下,环境因素引起的LD输出光功率不稳定会对陀螺的精度产生极大影响.为减小这种不稳定造成的检测误差,给出了一种恒流+温控的驱动电路来稳定光源输出功率,实验测定恒流电路的电流稳定性优于0.12％.激光器组件内包含的热敏电阻阻值随温度变化而改变,通过测量温控条件下热敏电阻两端电压,计算得到温度波动为±0.05℃.同时,实验还测量了在30C时,LD光源的输出功率标准差为0.0165mW.     

Low-harmonic three-phase inverters with nonpulsating terminalcurrents

A basic class of three-phase inverters with nonpulsating terminal currents, namely, the four-topology four-inductor four-capacitor class is derived and studied. The expressions of duty-ratios required for low-harmonic dc-to-three-phase-ac conversion, ranges of output voltage variation, and component stresses for given specifications of inverters are derived. The characteristics of inverters include low-harmonic power conversion, low component stresses, variable-frequency variable-amplitude output voltages of values both below and above the dc input value, and the use of minimum number of inductors to achieve nonpulsating terminal currents     

Total Solar Irradiance: What Have We Learned from the Last Three Cycles and the Recent Minimum?

The record of total solar irradiance (TSI) during the past 35 years shows similarities of the three solar cycles, but also important differences. During the recent minimum with an unusually long periods with no sunspots, TSI was also extremely low, namely 25% of a typical cycle amplitude lower than in 1996. Together with the values during the previous minima this points to a long-term change related to the strength of solar activity. On the other hand, activity indices as the 10.7?cm radio flux (F10.7), the CaII and MgII indices and also the Ly-α irradiance, show a much smaller decrease. This means that proxy models for TSI based on the photometric sunspot index (PSI), and on e.g. MgII index to represent faculae and network have to be complemented by a further component for the long-term change. TSI values at minima are correlated with the simultaneous values of the open magnetic field of the Sun at 1 AU and thus, these values may be used as a surrogate for the long-term change component. Such a 4-component model explains almost 85% of the variance of TSI over the three solar cycles available. This result supports also the idea that the long-term change of TSI is not due to manifestations of surface magnetism as the solar cycle modulation, but due to a change of the global temperature of Sun modulated by the strength of activity—being lower during low activity. To explain the difference between the minima in 1996 and 2008 we need a change of only 0.25?K.     

He-like Ions as Practical Astrophysical Plasma Diagnostics: From Stellar Coronae to Active Galactic Nuclei

We review X-ray plasma diagnostics based on the line ratios of He-like ions. Triplet/singlet line intensities can be used to determine electronic temperature and density, and were first developed for the study of the solar corona. Since the launches of the X-ray satellites Chandra and XMM-Newton, these diagnostics have been extended and used (from C?v to Si?xiii) for a wide variety of astrophysical plasmas such as stellar coronae, supernova remnants, solar system objects, active galactic nuclei, and X-ray binaries. Moreover, the intensities of He-like ions can be used to determine the ionization process(es) at work, as well as the distance between the X-ray plasma and the UV emission source for example in hot stars. In the near future thanks to the next generation of X-ray satellites (e.g., Astro-H and IXO), higher-Z He-like lines (e.g., iron) will be resolved, allowing plasmas with higher temperatures and densities to be probed. Moreover, the so-called satellite lines that are formed closed to parent He-like lines, will provide additional valuable diagnostics to determine electronic temperature, ionic fraction, departure from ionization equilibrium and/or from Maxwellian electron distribution.     

Voltage-based maximum power point tracking control of PV system

Photovoltaic (PV) generators exhibit nonlinear v-i characteristics and maximum power (MP) points that vary with solar insulation. An intermediate converter can therefore increase efficiency by matching the PV system to the load and by operating the solar cell arrays (SCAs) at their maximum power point. An MP point tracking algorithm is developed using only SCA voltage information thus leading to current sensorless tracking control. The inadequacy of a boost converter for array voltage based MP point control is experimentally verified and an improved converter system is proposed. The proposed converter system results in low ripple content, which improves the array performance and hence a lower value of capacitance is sufficient on the solar array side. Simplified mathematical expressions for a PV source are derived. A signal flow graph is employed for modeling the converter system. Current sensorless peak power tracking effectiveness is demonstrated through simulation results. Experimental results are presented to validate the proposed method     

The stretched lens array (SLA) [spacecraft solar power]

At IECEC 2001, this team presented a paper on the new stretched lens array (SLA), including its evolution from the successful SCARLET array on the NASA/JPL Deep Space 1 spacecraft. Since that conference, the SLA team has made significant advances in SLA technology, including component-level improvements, array-level optimization, space environment exposure testing, and prototype hardware fabrication and evaluation. This paper describes the evolved version of the SLA, highlighting recent improvements in the lens, solar cell, photovoltaic receiver, rigid panel structure, and complete solar array wing. In addition to excellent durability in the space environment, the near-term SLA will provide outstanding wing-level performance parameters: 180 W/kg specific power; 300 W/m/sup 2/ power density; 300 V operational voltage; 85% savings in cell area (cm/sup 2//W) and cell-related cost ($/W) compared to planar arrays; 9 kW/m/sup 3/ stowed power at launch.     

Flyback Converter Output Voltage Stabilization

The expression of the flyback converter output voltage (output power) is derived as a function of the supply voltage, load resistance, transformer ratios, transistor current gain, and base-circuit resistor value. Switching period and duty cycle are also calculated. A converter circuit is designed having stabilized output voltage, with respect to supply voltage, at constant load. The transistor base current is controlled by the supply voltage, via a nonlinear circuit. This feedforward circuit approximates with logarithmic characteristics the ideal hyperbolic dependence of the transistor base current as a function of the supply voltage. The converter has high performance and low cost. A cheaper circuit variant is presented, in which the high-voltage control transistor was eliminated.     

一种具有电压支撑功能的改进无功注入策略

电压跌落是输配电系统面临的最严重的问题之一。随着分布式光伏电源在电力系统中的渗透率越来越高,国内外最新标准要求光伏逆变器必须具备低电压穿越能力。为了消除有功功率振荡,在传统的正/负序控制基础上提出了一种改进的有功/无功注入策略;针对现有电压支撑方法缺乏电压抬升范围控制,将三相电压幅值作为控制目标,详细推导了适用于不同电压跌落情况下的数学模型,得出为保证各相电压均保持在安全运行范围之内所需注入无功功率参考值。仿真结果验证了所提策略的正确性和有效性。     

Ultra-lightweight space power from hybrid thin-film solar cells

The development of hybrid inorganic/organic thin-film solar cells on flexible, lightweight, space-qualified, durable substrates provides an attractive solution for space power generation with high mass specific power (W/kg). The high-volume, low-cost fabrication potential of organic cells will allow for square miles of solar cell production at one-tenth the cost of conventional inorganic materials. Plastic solar cells take a minimum of storage space and can be inflated or unrolled for deployment. We explore a cross-section of NASA in-house and sponsored research efforts that aim to provide new hybrid technologies that include both inorganic and polymer materials as active and substrate materials. For NASA applications, any solar cell or array technology must not only meet weight and AMO efficiency goals, but also must be durable enough to survive launch and space environments. Also, balance of system technologies must be developed to take advantage of ultra-lightweight solar arrays in power generation systems.