Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Fraas, Lewis.
In 1989, Fraas and Avery demonstrated a world-record 31% efficient AM0 GaAs/GaSb tandem solar cell. This record efficiency still holds today. However, the GaAs/GaSb mechanical-stacked cell was designed to work with concentrated sunlight and at that time, the space community had no experience with concentrated sunlight solar arrays.
Over the last seven years, NASA Lewis, ENTECH, and Boeing have been developing a high-efficiency, lightweight space photovoltaic concentrator array. The authors report the current status of the mini-dome Fresnel lens concentrator program, emphasizing the latest results on the fabrication and testing of a space-qualifiable version of the concentrator lens and panel structure. Calculations indicated that such an array can achieve 300 W/sq m at a specific power of 100 W/kg. The authors describe the current status of component and prototype panel testing and the preliminary development of a flight panel for the Photovoltaic Array Space Power Plus Diagnostics (PASP Plus) flight experiment.