26 patents
Utility
Automated assembly and mounting of solar cells on space panels
14 Nov 23
Marvin B. Clevenger, Benjamin Richards, Cory Tourino, Lei Yang, Daniel Aiken, Daniel Derkacs, Philip Blumenfeld
Filed: 14 Dec 20
Utility
Metamorphic solar cells
24 Oct 23
A multijunction solar cell including a metamorphic layer, and particularly the design and specification of the composition, lattice constant, and band gaps of various layers above the metamorphic layer in order to achieve reduction in “bowing” of the semiconductor wafer caused by the lattice mismatch of layers associated with the metamorphic layer.
Zachary Bittner, John Hart, Samantha Whipple, Nathaniel Miller, Daniel Derkacs
Filed: 27 Apr 21
Utility
Multijunction solar cell
10 Oct 23
A multijunction solar cell including a substrate and a top (or light-facing) solar subcell having an emitter layer, a base layer, and a window layer adjacent to the emitter layer, the window layer composed of a material that is optically transparent, has a band gap of greater than 2.6 eV, and includes an appropriately arranged multilayer antireflection coating on the top surface thereof.
Daniel Derkacs, Andrew Colin Espenlaub
Filed: 28 Apr 22
Utility
Multijunction metamorphic solar cell
10 Oct 23
A multijunction solar cell comprising a first solar subcell having a first band gap; a second solar subcell disposed adjacent to said first solar subcell and including an emitter layer, and a base layer having a second band gap less than the first band gap, and being lattice mismatched with the upper first solar subcell, and an intermediate layer directly adjacent to and disposed between first and the second solar subcells and compositionally graded to lattice match the first solar subcell on one side and the second solar subcell on the other side, and arranged so that light can enter and pass through the first solar subcell and at least a portion of which can be reflected back into the first solar subcell by the intermediate layer, and is composed of a plurality of layers of materials with discontinuities in their respective indices of refraction.
Daniel Derkacs, John Hart, Zachary Bittner, Andrew Espenlaub
Filed: 8 Aug 22
Utility
Multijunction solar cells
10 Oct 23
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.
John Hart, Daniel Derkacs, Zachary Bittner, Andrew Espenlaub
Filed: 13 Jan 22
Utility
Solar cell module on flexible supporting film
15 Aug 23
A solar cell module comprising a plurality of solar cells mounted on a flexible support, the support comprising a conductive layer on the top surface thereof divided into two electrically isolated portions—a first conductive portion and a second conductive portion.
Daniel Aiken, Daniel Derkacs
Filed: 12 May 22
Utility
Multijunction metamorphic solar cell
8 Aug 23
A four junction solar cell and its method of manufacture including an upper first solar subcell composed of a semiconductor material having a first band gap; a second solar subcell adjacent to said first solar subcell and composed of a semiconductor material having a second band gap smaller than the first band gap and being lattice matched with the upper first solar subcell; a third solar subcell adjacent to said second solar subcell and composed of a semiconductor material having a third band gap smaller than the second band gap and being lattice matched with the second solar subcell; a graded interlayer adjacent to the third solar subcell and having a fourth band gap greater than the third band gap; and a bottom solar subcell adjacent to the graded interlayer and being lattice mismatched from the third solar subcell and having a fifth band gap smaller than the fifth band gap, wherein the selection of composition of the subcells and their band gaps maximizes the efficiency of the solar cell at a predetermined temperature value (between 28 and 70 degrees Centigrade) at a predetermined time after the initial deployment in space, (the time of the initial deployment being referred to as “beginning-of-life (BOL)”), such predetermined time being referred to as the “end-of-life (EOL)” time, and such time being at least one year.
Daniel Derkacs
Filed: 5 Apr 22
Utility
Multijunction solar cells
1 Aug 23
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.
John Hart, Daniel Derkacs, Zachary Bittner, Andrew Espenlaub
Filed: 6 Sep 22
Utility
Inverted metamorphic multijunction solar cell
23 May 23
A metamorphic multijunction solar cell having a growth semiconductor substrate with a top surface having a doping in the range of 1x1018 to 1x1020 charge carriers/cm3; a window layer for a top (light facing) subcell formed directly on the top surface of the growth substrate; a sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a solar cell directly on the window layer; a surrogate substrate on the top surface of the sequence of layers of semiconductor material, wherein a portion of the semiconductor substrate is removed so that only the high doped surface portion of the substrate, having a thickness in the range of 0.5 μm to 10 μm, remains.
Daniel Derkacs, Christopher Kerestes, Steven Whipple
Filed: 10 Nov 20
Utility
Multijunction solar cells
23 May 23
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 cells has a graded band gap throughout its thickness.
Daniel Derkacs, John Hart, Zachary Bittner
Filed: 7 Dec 20
Utility
Five junction multijunction metamorphic solar cell
16 May 23
A five junction solar cell and its method of manufacture including an upper first solar subcell composed of a semiconductor material having a first band gap; a second solar subcell adjacent to said first solar subcell and composed of a semiconductor material having a second band gap smaller than the first band gap and being lattice matched with the upper first solar subcell; a third solar subcell adjacent to said second solar subcell and composed of a semiconductor material having a third band gap smaller than the second band gap and being lattice matched with the second solar subcell; a fourth solar subcell adjacent to said second solar subcell and composed of a semiconductor material having a fourth band gap smaller than the third band gap and being lattice matched with respect to the third solar subcell; a graded interlayer adjacent to the fourth solar subcell and having a fifth band gap greater than the fourth band gap; and a bottom solar subcell adjacent to the graded interlayer and being lattice mismatched from the fourth solar subcell and having a sixth band gap smaller than the fifth band gap.
Daniel Derkacs
Filed: 30 Mar 21
Utility
Back contact solar cell assemblies
9 May 23
A back contact solar cell assembly and methods for its manufacture and assembly onto a panel for use in space vehicles are described.
Lei Yang, Daniel McGlynn
Filed: 8 Feb 22
Utility
Interconnection of neighboring solar cells on a flexible supporting film
28 Feb 23
A method of fabricating a solar cell assembly comprising a plurality of solar cells mounted on a flexible support, the support comprising a conductive layer on the top surface thereof divided into two electrically isolated portions—a first conductive portion and a second conductive portion.
Daniel Aiken, Daniel Derkacs
Filed: 4 Jan 21
Utility
System and method to attach and remove space vehicles
7 Feb 23
A system and method for installing, deploying, and recovering a plurality of spacecraft that provides an ease of use and structural stability, and facilitates a standardization of spacecraft design.
Walter Holemans, Ryan Williams
Filed: 21 Dec 21
Utility
Recovery of a final stage of a spacecraft launch vehicle
31 Jan 23
After deploying its payload, the final stage of a launch vehicle is maneuvered to couple the nosecone of the launch vehicle to the ‘rear’, or ‘engine-end’ of the final stage.
Walter Holemans, Ryan Williams
Filed: 9 Sep 20
Utility
Multijunction solar cells
31 Jan 23
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 the upper first solar subcell covers less than the entire upper surface of the second solar subcell, leaving an exposed portion of the second solar subcell that lies in the path of the incoming light beam.
Daniel Derkacs, Daniel McGlynn
Filed: 13 Jul 20
Utility
Method of fabricating multijunction solar cells for space applications
24 Jan 23
A method of fabricating a four junction solar cell having an upper first solar subcell composed of a semiconductor material including aluminum and having a first band gap; a second solar subcell adjacent to said first solar subcell and composed of a semiconductor material having a second band gap smaller than the first band gap and being lattice matched with the upper first solar subcell; a third solar subcell adjacent to said second solar subcell and composed of a semiconductor material having a third band gap smaller than the second band gap and being lattice matched with the second solar subcell; and a fourth solar subcell adjacent to and lattice matched with said third solar subcell and composed of a semiconductor material having a fourth band gap smaller than the third band gap; wherein the fourth subcell has a direct bandgap of greater than 0.75 eV.
Daniel Derkacs, Daniel McGlynn
Filed: 7 Jul 16
Utility
Airfoil body
1 Nov 22
An airfoil body for an aircraft extending from an inner end to an outer end, and between a leading edge and a trailing edge.
Matthew Kruse
Filed: 31 Oct 20
Utility
Multijunction solar cells
25 Oct 22
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.
John Hart, Daniel Derkacs, Zachary Bittner, Andrew Espenlaub
Filed: 3 Sep 21
Utility
Inverted metamorphic multijunction solar cells having a permanent supporting substrate
23 Aug 22
The present disclosure provides a method of manufacturing a solar cell that includes providing a semiconductor growth substrate; depositing on said growth substrate a sequence of layers of semiconductor material forming a solar cell; applying a metal contact layer over said sequence of layers; affixing the adhesive polyimide surface of a permanent supporting substrate directly over said metal contact layer and permanently bonding it thereto by a thermocompressive technique; and removing the semiconductor growth substrate.
Arthur Cornfeld, Jeff Steinfeldt
Filed: 10 Jun 20