TecStar's ongoing success in space solar cell technology development continues to set state-of-the-art milestones. Responding to our customers requirements for higher, more efficient solar-power, TecStar's research and development team set a record 27 percent AMO efficiency at the Company's Applied Solar Division (ASD).
This benchmark was reached using an improved Cascadea multijunction solar cell technology. TecStar has been developing multijunction solar cells since 1992, emphasizing Cascade multijunction technology since 1995.
The improved Cascade triple junction solar cell technology verifies the device modeling and process controls. This will soon translate to a 33 percent increase in available satellite power over single junction gallium arsenide (GaAs) for our customers.
In addition, TecStar ASD Cascade technology is now achieving lot averages between 23 and 24 percent, with best cell efficiencies approaching 26 percent. To date, TecStar has produced more than 120,000 Cascade solar cells.
TecStar Inc. was founded in 1954 as the country's first supplier of silicon space solar cells. Today, the privately held company is the first to manufacture and fly triple junction Cascade cells and panels in space. The company maintains an unblemished, on-orbit performance on over 1,000 satellites involving programs such as GPS, Globalstar, Iridium, ORBCOMM, Landsat and the Mars Pathfinder mission.
