Accelerated annealing of gallium arsenide solar cells

Abstract

A method is provided for accelerating and improving the recovery of GaAs solar cells from the damage which they experience in space under high energy particle irradiation such as electrons, protons and neutrons. The method comprises combining thermal annealing with injection annealing. Injection annealing is the recovery from radiation damage resulting from minority carrier injection into the damaged semiconductor, nonradiative minority carrier combination of the injected minority carriers, transfer of the recombination energy to the crystal lattice and utilization of this energy to remove the defects caused by the high energy particle irradiation. The combined annealing of this invention is implemented by heating the solar cells to a moderate temperature (on the order of about 200.degree. C. to 300.degree. C. or less), while at the same time injecting the minority carriers by either of two methods: current injection (by applying an adequate forward bias voltage) or photo-injection (by exposing the cell to adequate light intensity). Sunlight directed onto the solar cells may be employed for heating the solar cells. Alternatively, energy dissipation in the solar cells caused by the flow of a forward bias current may be used to heat the solar cells. In one example, thermal annealing at 200.degree. C. alone was observed to bring the power output up to a level of about 75% of its original value from a level of about 50%, resulting from radiation-induced damage. Combined annealing, employing thermal annealing at 200.degree. C. in conjunction with simultaneous injection of minority carriers at a current density of 125 mA/cm.sup.2, was observed to bring the power output to a level of nearly 90%.