InGaN Nanowire Solar Cells, Phase I

NASA has very specific requirements when it comes to power generation technology. Solar panels are an obvious solution but making them suitable for the grueling space environment. Panels must withstand intense radiation bombardment and extreme temperature swings while maintaining acceptable levels of efficiency. Additionally because of the exorbitant costs of current technology NASA would like to reduce the costs associated with power generation. We propose to introduce a new class of solar cells that utilize the environmental strengths and absorption properties on InGaN technology. This material has an amazingly high defect tolerance but even more impressively can be tuned to capture any wave length of light in the solar spectrum. Our proposal offers the possibility of solar cell efficiencies exceeding 70% while providing excellent radiation resistance and a price point similar to that of silicon, 100 times cheaper than current space age technology. More »