The Influence of High-Energy Lithium Ion Irradiation on Electrical Characteristics of Silicon and GaAs Solar Cells

Space-grade Si and GaAs solar cells were irradiated with 15 & 40 MeV Li ions. Illuminated (AM0 condition) and unilluminated I-V curves reveal that the effect of high-energy Li ion irradiation has produced similar effects to that of proton irradiation. However, an additional, and different, defect mechanism is suggested to dominate in the heavier-ion results. Comparison is made with proton-irradiated solar-cell work and with non-ionizing energy-loss (NIEL) radiation-damage models.