2. Space Photovoltaics and Coupled Environmental Stressors

Space photovoltaic materials must operate under a combination of energetic-particle radiation, ultraviolet exposure, vacuum, thermal cycling, sustained illumination, and electrical load. Evaluating these stressors individually is useful, but it does not fully represent the conditions experienced by an operating spacecraft power system.

We study metal-halide perovskite and organic photovoltaic devices as lightweight alternatives or complements to conventional space solar technologies. Our work examines how particle energy and penetration depth determine where damage occurs within a multilayer device, how interfaces and barrier layers alter radiation response, and how illumination and operating bias affect defect evolution.

We also investigate the distinction between apparent radiation hardness and true operational reliability. A device may tolerate a large total fluence under one testing condition while responding very differently under another particle energy, dose rate, temperature, or device state.

The long-term objective is to establish testing protocols and materials-selection principles that connect laboratory irradiation experiments to realistic orbital and deep-space operating environments.