Amplitude scaling of solar array discharges

The problem of finding accurate scaling rules for solar arrays is addressed. Sections of a solar panel of four different sizes were charged in a 20-keV monoenergetic electron beam. The measured amplitudes of discharge transients coupled into power lines scaled linearly with the length of the rows of parallel-connected solar cells in the solar cell circuits. The authors describe the experimental determination of solar-array discharge scaling with area, with coverglass thickness, with solar-cell size, and with the number of cells, either in series or in parallel, in a circuit on a solar array.<
>