GaAs Thin-Film Solar Technology For The Field And Front Line

By Aarohi Vijh, head of Product, and Rich Kapusta, chief marketing officer, Alta Devices

A field-feasible solar cell must be small, light, unobtrusive, and efficient — that’s why gallium arsenide thin-film solar technology is poised to enable a whole host of new military applications.

Advances in military technology have created a thirst for power as never before. Access to energy when and where it is needed is one of the biggest challenges facing both designers and users of military equipment. The idea of harvesting energy from the world around us is one that holds great promise but has yet to be completely realized. The good news is that recent advances in solar technology are making big strides in bridging this gap and enabling a multitude of new applications on the battlefield.

The word “solar” conjures up images of acres of neat rows of aluminum-framed rectangles with metal supports. While this type of utility-scale solar installation is the most common, with over 70 gigawatts installed worldwide in 2016 alone, it is not the only form that solar can take. Indeed, a Google search for “NREL PV Chart” brings up a diagram tracking the development of over two dozen basic solar photovoltaic technologies, and that’s not counting the additional varieties and flavors many of those technologies can assume.