Figure IV-8.- Solar concentrator. A typical solar cell blanket, used as a reference design, is shown in figure IV-9. The electrical connections between cells (copper or aluminum) are sandwiched between two layers of Kapton and welded to the cell through holes in the upper layer of Kapton. The cells are covered with a plastic such as FEP Teflon. Cell thickness is 2 0.1 mm (4 mil). Total blanket weight is estimated at 0.31 to 0.46 kg/m . Concentrators are 12.5 mm (0.5 mil) with a thin aluminum coating. Their 2 weight is approximately 0.04 kg/m . Considerable development will be required in cell manufacture and blanket assembly. The present technique of growing a singlecrystal ingot about 3 in. in diameter, sawing it into disks, cutting the disks into square blanks, and lapping and polishing to make a cell, cannot hope to meet cost or quantity requirements of the program. Work has been done on growing silicon in thin sheets, but crystal defects, which reduce efficiency, are numerous.
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