Effect of <200 keV proton radiation on electric properties of silicon solar cells at 77 K

The change in electric properties of back-field silicon solar cells was investigated under the irradiation of protons with the energies less than 200 keV at 77 K. Experimental results showed that the short circuit current, maximum output power and open circuit voltage decrease to different extent with increasing the fluence and energy of protons. Under the 120 keV proton irradiation for the fluence of 1 × 10¹⁶ cm⁻², a large amount of radiation-induced defects with the energy level H1 +0.47 eV were formed. In terms of analyzing the time dependence of electric properties, the performance lifetime of the silicon cells under the exposure of <200 keV protons was predicted.