Oliver Trojak, University of Southampton
Koosha Nassiri Nazif, Stanford University
Eric Pop, Stanford University
Nina Vaidya, University of Southampton
Koosha Nazif, , Stanford University
Ultra-thin solar cells based on transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) offer several advantages over conventional solar technologies for space applications, including space radiation tolerance and high specific power. Due to the ultra-thin nature of the cells, they operate in a new regime and are vulnerable to very low energy radiation (<100 keV), especially protons. In this work, we simulate the radiation stability of WSe2-based solar cells and designed a cell device stack to withstand low energy proton radiation that is present at high fluences levels in space. An integrated and multifunctional ultra-thin (<600 nm) space radiation shielding stack is designed to encapsulate and protect against radiation, while improving the anti-reflection and light absorption in the active layer, passivation, doping, and charge transport, and emissive radiative cooling. Our optimized design shows experimental results of minimal degradation after proton irradiation at realistic mission fluences, with nearly full recovery following operating-temperature anneal process.