1.00 MeV proton radiation resistance studies of single-junction and single gap dual-junction amorphous-silicon alloy solar cells

This paper reports a comparative study of the radiation resistance of a-Si:H and a-SiGe:H single-junction and a-Si:H dual-junction solar cells conducted. The cells were irradiated with 1.00 MeV protons of fluences 1.0E14, 5.0E14 and 1.0E15 cm-2 and characterized using I-V and quantum efficiency measurements. The radiation resistance of single-junction cells cannot be used to explain the behavior of dual-junction cells at a fluence of 1.0E15 cm-2. The a-Si:H single-junction cells degraded the least of the three cells; a-SiGe:H single-junction cells showed the largest reduction in short-circuit current while a-Si:H dual-junction cells exhibited the largest degradation in the open circuit voltage. The quantum efficiency of the cells degraded more in the red part of the spectrum; the bottom junction degrades first in dual-junction cells