Andrew Yee[_1_]
January 4th 07, 09:46 PM
Office of Strategic Communications
University of California-Riverside
News Media Contact:
Ricardo Duran, 951.827.5893
December 22, 2006
NASA Supports UCR Research on Improved Solar Cells for Spacecraft
The space agency awards a two-year grant to use nanotechnology to improve
the efficiency and radiation-resistance of solar cells for spacecraft.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Just as mileage limits how far your car can go, the
limitations of today's solar panels restrict how far deep-space exploration
craft can go before they run out of power. Researchers at the University of
California, Riverside, however, are part of a team to improve our
interstellar mileage.
Electrical Engineering Professor Alexander Balandin of the Bourns College of
Engineering is co-leading a university-industry team, which received NASA
funding to develop solar cells for space that use nanostructures to both
increase efficiency and improve resistance to radiation damage.
The interdisciplinary team includes researchers and engineers from the
Huntsville, Ala.-based CFD Research Corporation, the Rochester Institute of
Technology and International Photonics.
Together, they will develop the software tools that fuel computer models
designed to improve the next generation of solar cells for use in space as
well as to test prototype devices. UCR will design computer simulations and
models that will facilitate this prototype testing, according to Balandin.
"We're looking at new concepts in approaching this modeling and simulation
by including physical models in the software modeling tools," Balandin said.
Future NASA deep-space exploration missions will require improvements in the
photovoltaic efficiency of solar panels and their resistance to radiation.
The work in Professor Balandin's Nano-Device Laboratory (NDL), funded with
$200K two-year subcontract, will include modeling of light absorption and
electron transport in the nanostructured semiconductors as well as
experimental study of the solar cell performance.
The software tools developed by the project will use theoretical results
previously obtained in Balandin's lab on the development of regimented
quantum dot superlattices.
Related Link:
* The Bourns College of Engineering at UCR
http://www.engr.ucr.edu/
University of California-Riverside
News Media Contact:
Ricardo Duran, 951.827.5893
December 22, 2006
NASA Supports UCR Research on Improved Solar Cells for Spacecraft
The space agency awards a two-year grant to use nanotechnology to improve
the efficiency and radiation-resistance of solar cells for spacecraft.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. -- Just as mileage limits how far your car can go, the
limitations of today's solar panels restrict how far deep-space exploration
craft can go before they run out of power. Researchers at the University of
California, Riverside, however, are part of a team to improve our
interstellar mileage.
Electrical Engineering Professor Alexander Balandin of the Bourns College of
Engineering is co-leading a university-industry team, which received NASA
funding to develop solar cells for space that use nanostructures to both
increase efficiency and improve resistance to radiation damage.
The interdisciplinary team includes researchers and engineers from the
Huntsville, Ala.-based CFD Research Corporation, the Rochester Institute of
Technology and International Photonics.
Together, they will develop the software tools that fuel computer models
designed to improve the next generation of solar cells for use in space as
well as to test prototype devices. UCR will design computer simulations and
models that will facilitate this prototype testing, according to Balandin.
"We're looking at new concepts in approaching this modeling and simulation
by including physical models in the software modeling tools," Balandin said.
Future NASA deep-space exploration missions will require improvements in the
photovoltaic efficiency of solar panels and their resistance to radiation.
The work in Professor Balandin's Nano-Device Laboratory (NDL), funded with
$200K two-year subcontract, will include modeling of light absorption and
electron transport in the nanostructured semiconductors as well as
experimental study of the solar cell performance.
The software tools developed by the project will use theoretical results
previously obtained in Balandin's lab on the development of regimented
quantum dot superlattices.
Related Link:
* The Bourns College of Engineering at UCR
http://www.engr.ucr.edu/