Effect of Alpha-Particle Irradiation on InGaP/GaAs/Ge Triple-Junction Solar Cells

InGaP/GaAs/Ge triple-junction solar cells were irradiated with 5.1 MeV alpha particles with different fluences. The degradations of the optical and electrical properties of InGaP/GaAs/Ge solar cells were described in terms of the variation in the short-circuit current (I(sc)), the open-circuit voltage (V(oc)), the maximum power (P(max)), the spectral response (SR), and the photoluminescence (PL) versus the 5.1 MeV alpha-particle fluences. The degradation modeling of the I(sc) and V(oc) under 1 MeV, 3 MeV, and 5.1 MeV alpha-particle irradiation was performed by calculating the introduction rate of non-radiative recombination centers, and the minority-carrier capture cross section, and the results were in good agreement with experimental data. For comparison, the degradations of the I(sc) and V(oc) were presented under 1 MeV and 3 MeV proton irradiation.