Issues and opportunities in space photovoltaics

Space power sources are becoming a central focus for determining man's potential and schedule for exploring and utilizing the benefits of space. The ability to search, probe, survey, and communicate throughout the universe will depend on providing adequate power to the instruments to do these jobs. Power requirements for space platforms are increasing and will continue to increase into the 21st century. Photovoltaics have been a dependable power source for space for the last 30 years and have served as the primary source of power on virtually all DOD and NASA satellites. The performance of silicon (Si) solar cells has increased from 10 percent air mass zero (AM0) solar energy conversion efficiency in the early 60's to almost 15 percent on today's spacecraft. Some technologists even think that the potential for solar photovoltaics has reached a plateau. However, present and near-future Air Force and NASA requirements show needs that, if the problems are looked upon as opportunities, can elevate the photovoltaic power source scientist and array structure engineer into the next technological photovoltaic growth curve

Advances in thin-film solar cells for lightweight space photovoltaic power

The present stature and current research directions of photovoltaic arrays as primary power systems for space are reviewed. There have recently been great advances in the technology of thin-film solar cells for terrestrial applications. In a thin-film solar cell the thickness of the active element is only a few microns; transfer of this technology to space arrays could result in ultralow-weight solar arrays with potentially large gains in specific power. Recent advances in thin-film solar cells are reviewed, including polycrystalline copper-indium selenide (CuInSe2) and related I-III-VI2 compounds, polycrystalline cadmium telluride and related II-VI compounds, and amorphous silicon:hydrogen and alloys. The best experimental efficiency on thin-film solar cells to date is 12 percent AMO for CuIn Se2. This efficiency is likely to be increased in the next few years. The radiation tolerance of thin-film materials is far greater than that of single-crystal materials. CuIn Se2 shows no degradation when exposed to 1 MeV electrons. Experimental evidence also suggests that most of all of the radiation damage on thin-films can be removed by a low temperature anneal. The possibility of thin-film multibandgap cascade solar cells is discussed, including the tradeoffs between monolithic and mechanically stacked cells. The best current efficiency for a cascade is 12.5 percent AMO for an amorphous silicon on CuInSe2 multibandgap combination. Higher efficiencies are expected in the future. For several missions, including solar-electric propulsion, a manned Mars mission, and lunar exploration and manufacturing, thin-film photovolatic arrays may be a mission-enabling technology

High efficiency thermal to electric energy conversion using selective emitters and spectrally tuned solar cells

Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems are attractive possibilities for direct thermal-to-electric energy conversion, but have typically required the use of black body radiators operating at high temperatures. Recent advances in both the understanding and performance of solid rare-earth oxide selective emitters make possible the use of TPV at temperatures as low as 1500 K. Depending on the nature of parasitic losses, overall thermal-to-electric conversion efficiencies greater than 20 percent are feasible

Measurement of the semileptonic branching fraction of the B_s meson

We report a measurement of the inclusive semileptonic branching fraction of the B_s meson using data collected with the BABAR detector in the center-of-mass energy region above the Υ(4S) resonance. We use the inclusive yield of ϕ mesons and the ϕ yield in association with a high-momentum lepton to perform a simultaneous measurement of the semileptonic branching fraction and the production rate of B_s mesons relative to all B mesons as a function of center-of-mass energy. The inclusive semileptonic branching fraction of the B_s meson is determined to be B(B_s→ℓνX)=9.5_(-2.0)^(+2.5)(stat)_(-1.9)^(+1.1)(syst)%, where ℓ indicates the average of e and μ

B^0 meson decays to ρ^0K^(*0), f_0K^(*0), and ρ^-K^(*+), including higher K^* resonances

We present branching fraction measurements for the decays B^0→ρ^0K^(*0), B^0→f_0K^(*0), and B^0→ρ^-K^(*+), where K^* is an S-wave (Kπ)_0^* or a K^*(892) meson; we also measure B^0→f_0K_2^*(1430)^0. For the K^*(892) channels, we report measurements of longitudinal polarization fractions (for ρ final states) and direct CP violation asymmetries. These results are obtained from a sample of (471.0±2.8)×10^6 BB̅ pairs collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e^+e^- collider at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. We observe ρ^0K^*(892)^0, ρ^0(Kπ)_0^(*0), f_0K^*(892)^0, and ρ^-K^*(892)^+ with greater than 5σ significance, including systematics. We report first evidence for f_0(Kπ)_0^(*0) and f_0K_2^*(1430)^0, and place an upper limit on ρ^-(Kπ)_0^(*+). Our results in the K^*(892) channels are consistent with no direct CP violation

Observation of the baryonic B decay B̅^0→Λ_c^+Λ̅ K^-

We report the observation of the baryonic B decay B̅ ^0→Λ_c^+Λ̅ K^- with a significance larger than 7 standard deviations based on 471×10^6 BB̅ pairs collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II storage ring at SLAC. We measure the branching fraction for the decay B̅ ^0→Λ_c^+Λ̅ K^- to be (3.8±0.8_(stat)±0.2_(sys)±1.0_(Λc)^+)×10^(-5). The uncertainties are statistical, systematic, and due to the uncertainty in the Λc+ branching fraction. We find that the Λ_c^+K^- invariant-mass distribution shows an enhancement above 3.5  GeV/c^2