Triple-junction metal wrap through solar cells tested in space
German researchers from the University of Stuttgartt and Azur Space Solar Power, the cell manufacturing subsidiary of Canada-based high-purity materials provider 5N Plus, conceived a miniaturized solar cell experiment (SCE) for nanosatellites.
The SCE was used in low earth orbit to measure the performance of novel triple-junction metal wrap-through (MWT) solar cells being developed by Azur Space for the new space sector alongside quadruple-junction solar cells.
The team’s novel instrumentation successfully sampled more than 5,000 IV-curves, cell temperatures, sun error angles, and total ionizing dose (TID) measurements, as described in “Design and first results of the solar cell experiment on EIVE,” published in Acta Astronautica.
The data gathered in orbit was in turn used to validate the sophisticated temperature and solar simulator characterization tools in the lab on the ground.
“Within the last decade some organizations and universities have launched solar cell experiments on CubeSats, however, with mixed results due to the very constraining nature of such miniaturized satellite platforms,” Markus T. Koller, the research’s corresponding author told pv magazine. “We have shown that well-designed measurement electronics and a reliable satellite platform will enable proper solar cell characterization in the real space environment.”
The experiment is ongoing, with the number of IV curves measured reaching 6,680 as of early February 2025, according to Koller.
The nanosatellite platform in this case was the exploratory in-orbit verification of an E-band link (EIVE), which was developed by a German consortium comprising several research institutes and industrial partners. It is a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite.
“From the technological viewpoint, the study has shown that the metal-wrap-through technology is valid for use in space and does not pose any drawbacks for the solar power generation in space,” said Koller.
On the experiment side, it has proven that solar cell experimentation on nanosatellite platforms with “high mass, size and power constraints are capable of delivering adequate solar cell characterization results that stand up to the sophisticated and bulky space solar simulators on Earth,” according to Koller.
“If both results match well, it means that both approaches are adequate to test new solar technologies for space applications,” he said.
For the experimental setup, the researchers examined earlier solar cell space experiments, deciding to use of electronic load circuit and radiation-sensitive field-effect transistor (RadFET) due to power, mass, and size constraints, despite challenges that “can introduce artefacts in IV-curves,” if not mitigated.
The load circuit was based on a proportional-integral (PI) controller at the gate of a low-transconductance SI3460BDV n-channel metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET), and current feedback loop, combined with digital point filtering that enhanced the point distribution on the IV-curves.
Image: University of Stuttgart
The test board included nine 2 × 2 cm2 cells and one that measured 4 × 8 cm2. The cells were either Azur Space's 3G30 triple-junction cells or 4G32 quadruple-junction models.
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