A multijunction solar cell including an upper first solar subcell having a first band gap and positioned for receiving an incoming light beam; and a second solar subcell disposed below and adjacent to and lattice matched with said upper first solar subcell, and having a second band gap smaller than said first band gap; wherein at least one of the solar subcells has a graded band gap throughout the thickness of at least a portion of its emitter layer and base layer.

Method and apparatus for annealing micro-scale or macro solar cells that can contain lithium or hydrogen. Heaters, a current that is applied in forward or reverse direction, or open-circuiting the cells are used optionally with a laser or other light source to increase the temperature of the cells to perform periodic anneals to recover energy conversion efficiency lost due to environmental conditions such as radiation damage and maintain desired operational conditions. Larger amounts of additional energy are harvested with the improved efficiency of the cells. Illuminating the cells with specific wavelengths of light can enhance the diffusion of the lithium or hydrogen, or their binding and unbinding from dopants or defects, in the silicon lattice. The lithium or hydrogen can diffuse into the cells via their inclusion in the polysilicon layer forming a tunneling oxide passivated contact. Dopants in the silicon can reduce annealing time and temperature.

A multijunction solar cell including an upper first solar subcell having a first band gap and positioned for receiving an incoming light beam; a second solar subcell disposed below and adjacent to and lattice matched with said upper first solar subcell, and having a second band gap smaller than said first band gap; wherein at least one of the solar subcells has a graded band gap throughout the thickness of at least a portion of the active layer of the one solar subcell.

A method of fabricating four junction solar cell wherein the selection of the composition of the subcells and their band gaps maximizes the efficiency at high temperature (in the range of 50 to 100 degrees Centigrade) in deployment in space at a specific predetermined time after initial deployment (referred to as the beginning of life or BOL), such predetermined time being referred to as the end-of-life (EOL), and being at least five years after the BOL, such selection being designed not to maximize the efficiency at BOL but to increase the solar cell efficiency at the EOL while disregarding the soar cell efficiency achieved at the BOL, such that the solar cell efficiency designed at the BOL is less than the solar cell efficiency at the BOL that would be achieved if the selection were designed to maximize the solar cell efficiency at the BOL.

A method of fabricating four junction solar cell wherein the selection of the composition of the subcells and their band gaps maximizes the efficiency at high temperature (in the range of 50 to 100 degrees Centigrade) in deployment in space at a specific predetermined time after initial deployment (referred to as the beginning of life or BOL), such predetermined time being referred to as the end-of-life (EOL), and being at least five years after the BOL, such selection being designed not to maximize the efficiency at BOL but to increase the solar cell efficiency at the EOL while disregarding the soar cell efficiency achieved at the BOL, such that the solar cell efficiency designed at the BOL is less than the solar cell efficiency at the BOL that would be achieved if the selection were designed to maximize the solar cell efficiency at the BOL.

A space-based solar power station, a power generating satellite module and/or a method for collecting solar radiation and transmitting power generated using electrical current produced therefrom is provided. Power transmitters can be coordinated as a phased array and the power generated by the phased array is transmitted to one or more power receivers to achieve remote wireless power generation and delivery. In many embodiments, a reference signal is distributed within the space-based solar power station to coordinate the phased array. In several embodiments, determinations of the relative locations of the antennas in the array are utilized to evaluate the phase shift and/or amplitude modulation to apply the reference signal at each power transmitter.

A space-based solar power station, a power generating satellite module and/or a method for collecting solar radiation and transmitting power generated using electrical current produced therefrom is provided. Power transmitters can be coordinated as a phased array and the power generated by the phased array is transmitted to one or more power receivers to achieve remote wireless power generation and delivery. In many embodiments, a reference signal is distributed within the space-based solar power station to coordinate the phased array. In several embodiments, determinations of the relative locations of the antennas in the array are utilized to evaluate the phase shift and/or amplitude modulation to apply the reference signal at each power transmitter.

A monolithic multijunction solar cell having exactly four subcells, an uppermost first subcell having a layer made up of a component having the elements AlInP, and the lattice constant a1 of the layer being between 0.572 nm and 0.577 nm, and the indium content being between 64% and 75%, and the Al content being between 18% and 32%, and the third subcell having a layer made up of a compound having at least the elements GaInAs, and the lattice constant of the layer being between 0.572 and 0.577, and the indium content of the layer being greater than 17%, and the second subcell comprising a layer including a compound which has at least the elements GaInAsP, the layer having an arsenic content between 22% and 33% and an indium content between 52% and 65%. and the lattice constant a2 being between 0.572 and 0.577.

An antenna assembly has a solar layer having one or more solar cells generating solar power, an antenna layer connected to the solar layer and having electronic components utilizing the solar power generated by the solar layer, and a thermal dissipation device dissipating heat locally at the antenna assembly. A large number of antenna assemblies are connected to form an antenna array in which heat is generated locally at each antenna assembly and dissipated locally at each antenna assembly.

An antenna assembly has a solar layer having one or more solar cells generating solar power, an antenna layer connected to the solar layer and having electronic components utilizing the solar power generated by the solar layer, and a thermal dissipation device dissipating heat locally at the antenna assembly. A large number of antenna assemblies are connected to form an antenna array in which heat is generated locally at each antenna assembly and dissipated locally at each antenna assembly.