Gallium arsenide solar arrays-a mature technology

Gallium arsenide solar cells, even though they supply higher power density than silicon cells, have seen limited use on production space solar cell arrays, primarily because of higher cost and weight and a perceived lack of design maturity. However, analysis of end-of-life (EOL) power requirements shows that cell-level disadvantages are more than offset at the solar array panel or system-level. A comparison is made of the power, cost, and weight as a function of operating temperature and particulate radiation for state-of-the-art GaAs and Si solar arrays. The successful resolution of issues during GaAs development, the production of several thousand square feet of GaAs array area, and the outstanding performance on the LIPS III flight experiment demonstrate the maturity of the technology.<>