Electrical performance of the InGaP solar cell irradiated with low energy electron beams

The investigation of the radiation degradation characteristics of InGaP space solar cells is important. In order to understand the mechanism of the degradation by radiation the samples of the InGaP solar cell were irradiated in vacuum and at ambient temperature with electron beams from a Cockcroft-Walton type accelerator at Osaka Prefecture University. The threshold energies for recoil were obtained by theoretical calculation. The energies and the fluences of the electron beams were from 60 to 400 keV and from 3×10¹⁴ to 3×10¹⁶ cm^-2, respectively. The light-current-voltage measurements were performed. The degradation of Isc caused by the defects related to the phosphorus atoms was observed and the degradation was suppressed by irradiation at an energy higher than the threshold energy for recoiling Indium atoms. At an energy of 60 keV, where the recoil does not occur, the V_oc was degraded.