Proposed economical manufacture of solar-cell arrays involves parallel, planar weaving of filaments made of doped silicon fibers with diffused radial junction. Each filament is a solar cell connected either in series or parallel with others to form a blanket of deposited grids or attached electrode wire mesh screens

Eliason, J. T.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

Solar Array 
Blanket 
Insulating Fibers (Silicon Fibers may 
Alternatively be Encapsulated or 
Bound Together with Adhesive) 
flight is Incident on Blanket to 
aide Opposite Current Collecting Grid. 
October 1973	 B73-10374 
•	 NASA TECH BRIEF 
Marshall Space Flight Center	
*^ if 
-.	 -	 .	 -- 	 - 
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commercial application. Tech Briefs are available on a subscription basis from the National Technical Information 
Service, Springfield, Virginia 22151. Requests for individual copies or questions relating to the Tech Brief program may 
be directed to the Technology Utilization Office, NASA, Code KT, Washington, D.C. 20546. 
Silicon-Fiber Blanket Solar-Cell Array Concept 
[I
Silver-Titanium Deposited 
Grid or Welded Wire Grid 
Etched or Sand Blasted 
N	 Region to Expose P Material 
Contact	
P 
Contact'
;M 
Diffused	 P 
N Layer	 Region
The problem: 
Scientists have been aware of the photovoltaic effect 
for over a century. It has been understood and ex-
plained in the early part of the 20th Century and put 
to use only recently. Indeed, the conversion of light into 
electric energy first became available several decades
ago to photographers who began using selenium light 
meters to determine exposure settings for their cameras. 
The Space industry advanced this technology and 
introduced solar cells as compact means of electrical 
power for space vehicle systems. At the present time, 
scientists are considering solar-cell arrays as a possible 
This document was prepared under the sponsorship of the National
	 Government assumes any liability resulting from the use of the 
Aeronautics and Space Administration. Neither the United States
	 information contained in this document, or warrants that such use 
Government nor any person acting on behalf of the United States
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https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19730000374 2020-03-17T07:04:40+00:00Z
source of electrical power for homes. Yet significant 
progress is needed to reduce the production costs of 
such arrays. 
The solution: 
The proposed parallel weaving of doped silicon 
fibers promises significant reduction in costs of manu-
facturing of solar-cell arrays. 
How it's done: 
The proposed economical manufacture of solar-cell 
arrays involves a parallel, planar weaving of filaments 
made of doped silicon fibers with a diffused radial 
junction (see figure). Each filament is a solar cell 
connected either in series or parallel with others to 
form a blanket of deposited grids or attached electrode 
wire mesh screens. Cells or arrays can be made larger 
or smaller by making the grid electrodes in different 
ways, by weaving suitable wires among the silicon 
filaments to act as buses, and by varying the dimensions 
of the blanket. The filament is fabricated by current 
state-of-the-art techniques. The silicon filament is flexi-
ble and of high strength; hence, it can be wound on 
drums for storage in either filament or blanket form. 
Because of the high strength and small size (diameter 
ranges from 0.001 to 0.010 inch or 0.025 to 0.25 mm, 
respectively) of the fiber, the array will have high 
redundancy. The blanket processing can be automated 
by using lasers or rf induction heating (from formation 
of the silicon filament, diffusing, to weaving and 
attaching electrodes) instead of painstaking hand lay-
down and inspection.
The unique features of this approach stem from the 
silicon filament itself. Because of its high strength, 
flexibility, and potentially excellent crystal structure, 
the filament is processed, stored, and handled with 
minimum effort. Comparison with the present cost of 
fiberglass cloth indicates that the potential cost of an 
array could be reduced by factor of 100 to 1000 to 
make solar-cell power competitive with other power 
sources. As with fiberglass, it is possible to incorporate 
the silicon array as part of the structural material. 
Note: 
Requests for further information may be directed to: 
Technology Utilization Officer 
Marshall Space Flight Center 
Code A&PS-TU 
Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama 35812 
Reference: B73-10374 
Patent status: 
Inquiries concerning rights for the commercial use of 
this invention should be addressed to: 
Patent Counsel 
Marshall Space Flight Center 
Code A&PS-PAT 
Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama 35812 
Source: J. T. Eliason of

Sperry Rand Corp.

under contract to

Marshall Space Flight Center

(MFS.22458)
. 
S 
. 
B73-10374	 Category 01,03,08


Silicon-fiber blanket solar-cell array concept

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