InGaN High Temperature Photovoltaic Cells

The objectives of this Phase II project are to develop InGaN photovoltaic cells for high temperature and/or high radiation environments to TRL 4 and to define the development path for the technology to TRL 5 and beyond. The project will include theoretical and experimental refinement of device structures produced in the Phase I, as well as modeling and optimization of solar cell device processing. The devices will be tested under concentrated AM0 sunlight, at temperatures from 100ºC to 250ºC, and after exposure to ionizing radiation. The results are expected to further verify that InGaN can be used for high temperature / high radiation capable solar cells in NASA space missions.

The high temperature stability of these materials will benefit operation under high concentrations in terrestrial DoD applications. InGaN solar cells are also viewed as an enabling technology for better efficiency terrestrial/space solar cells where environmental factors are less of an issue. The large commercial terrestrial market could benefit from the hybridization of InGaN materials to existing solar cell technology to significantly increase cell efficiency without relying on highly toxic compounds. In addition, further development of this technology to even lower bandgap materials for space applications could be of importance to DoD and commercial satellite manufacturers due to the extended lifetimes of satellite solar cell arrays arising from increased radiation hardness.

Although solar cells are used on many NASA platforms for power generation, IMS envisions the cells developed in this project would be especially beneficial to missions near the sun and those in high radiation environments. Therefore, the missions Solar Orbiter and Solar Sentinels in the Living with a Star Program (LWS) could benefit from this technology. The photovoltaic panels in these missions will be exposed to much larger AM0 solar fluxes than typical near-Earth satellites approximately 25 suns for the Orbiter, and 16 suns for the Sentinels.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.