# US 12,009,451 B2 · In-situ rapid annealing and operation of solar cells for extreme environment applications > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,009,451 B2 - Document ID: US12009451B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/526,644 - Filed: 2019-07-30 - Published: 2020-01-30 - Granted: 2024-06-11 - Earliest claimed: 2018-07-30 - Assignees: mPower Technology, Inc. - Applicants: mPower Technology, Inc. - Inventors: Murat Okandan; Kaveh Rouhani - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12009451B2 ## CPC - H10F 71/128: {Annealing} - H10F 77/80: Arrangements for preventing damage to photovoltaic cells caused by corpuscular radiation, e.g. for space applications - H02S 40/40: Thermal components (H02S10/30 takes precedence) - H10F 10/146: {Back-junction photovoltaic cells, e.g. having interdigitated base-emitter regions on the back side} - H10F 19/00: Integrated devices, or assemblies of multiple devices, comprising at least one photovoltaic cell covered by group H10F10/00, e.g. photovoltaic modules - H10F 19/908: {for back-contact photovoltaic cells} - H10F 71/121: {The active layers comprising only Group IV materials} - H10F 77/12: Active materials - H10F 77/484: {Refractive light-concentrating means, e.g. lenses} - H10N 10/13: characterised by the heat-exchanging means at the junction - Y02E 10/52: PV systems with concentrators - Y02E 10/547: Monocrystalline silicon PV cells - Y02P 70/50: Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product - H10F: INORGANIC SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES SENSITIVE TO INFRARED RADIATION, LIGHT, ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION OF SHORTER WAVELENGTH OR CORPUSCULAR RADIATION - H02S: GENERATION OF ELECTRIC POWER BY CONVERSION OF INFRARED RADIATION, VISIBLE LIGHT OR ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT, e.g. USING PHOTOVOLTAIC [PV] MODULES (obtaining electrical energy from radioactive sources G21H1/12; light sensitive inorganic semiconductor devices H10F; light sensitive organic semiconductor devices H10K30/00; thermoelectric devices H10N10/00; pyroelectric devices H10N15/00) - H10N: ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION - Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS ## Abstract Method and apparatus for annealing micro-scale or macro solar cells that can contain lithium. 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. While a small amount of energy is used for heating up the small thermal mass of the micro-cells and macro cells to the desired annealing temperature, much larger amounts of additional energy is harvested with the improved efficiency of the cells. Maintaining a desired temperature for operation of cells takes very little energy owing to the small thermal mass of the cells and controlled thermal conduction of the materials in contact with the cells. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method of annealing a deployed solar cell array comprising solar cells comprising lithium, the method comprising: orienting the solar cell array toward the sun; open-circuiting a first portion of the array, thereby raising the temperature of the first portion; and annealing the first portion of the array to remove defects in the first portion. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 further comprising operating a second portion of the array during the annealing step. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 further comprising open-circuiting a second portion of the array and annealing the second portion. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The method of claim 3 comprising selecting which portion to open-circuit and anneal by a procedure selected from the group consisting of a fixed algorithm, a command, an embedded artificial intelligence system, and an artificial neural network. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 further comprising flowing additional current through embedded resistors or heaters in the first portion of the array in order to further increase the temperature of the first portion. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5 wherein the flowing step is performed when the solar cells are in darkness or are exposed to light. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 further comprising shining a light source on the first portion of the array in order to further raise the temperature of the first portion. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7 wherein the light source is on a same spacecraft as the solar array, on another spacecraft, on the ground, or on another celestial body. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The method of claim 7 wherein the light source comprises as a laser, an LED, or a monochromatic light source. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the defects are manufacturing- induced and/or produced by radiation exposure. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 wherein the array comprises a transparent cover to at least partially protect the array from radiation. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11 wherein the cover comprises a material selected from the group consisting of radiation resistant glass, a polymeric/glass hybrid, a polymeric thin metal hybrid, a thin film, and a polymer. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11 wherein the cover is segmented, each segment covering a subset of the solar cells in the array. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The method of claim 11 wherein the cover is continuous.