Spectrolab is a manufacturer of space

solar cell A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical phenomenon.

s and panels headquartered in

Sylmar, California Sylmar is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley and is the northernmost neighborhood within the City of Los Angeles. Historically known for its profusion of sylvan olive orchards, Sylmar can trace its past to the 18th century and th ...

. It is a subsidiary of The Boeing Company, and part of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. Spectrolab was founded in 1956 by

Alfred E. Mann Alfred E. Mann (1925 – February 25, 2016), also known as Al Mann, was an American physicist, inventor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Early life and education Mann was born and raised to a Jewish family in Portland, Oregon. His father was a ...

, a billionaire American

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

. Spectrolab was originally a division of

Textron Textron Inc. is an American industrial conglomerate based in Providence, Rhode Island. Textron's subsidiaries include Arctic Cat, Bell Textron, Textron Aviation (which itself includes the Beechcraft, and Cessna brands), and Lycoming Engines. ...

. Spectrolab was acquired by

Hughes Aircraft Company The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded on February 14, 1934 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California, as a division of Hughes Tool Company. The company was known for producing, among other ...

in 1975 and became a subsidiary of Hughes until its sale to Boeing in 2000. The company states its "NeXt Triple Junction"

high efficiency solar cells A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical phenomenon.

have a minimum average efficiency of 29.5% to AIAA-2005-111 and AIAA-2005-112 requirements. In 2006 testing at the

National Renewable Energy Laboratory The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US specializes in the research and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy systems integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL is a federally funded research an ...

demonstrated an efficiency of 40.7% using triple-junction solar cells developed by Spectrolab under concentration. In 2013, testing at the

demonstrated an efficiency of 38.7% without concentration, a new world record at the time. Spectrolab claims to have manufactured over 4 million space qualified multi-junction solar cells or solar panels to the industry as of 2013. Spectrolab has recently geared its highly efficient space solar cell technology for terrestrial purposes with great success using concentrators. Spectrolab's terrestrial concentrating cell boasts greater than 30% AM1.5D min. avg. efficiency from 200 to 400 Suns concentration in production.

Solar Cells

The company's ultra triple junction solar cells use exotic materials like

germanium Germanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ge and atomic number 32. It is lustrous, hard-brittle, grayish-white and similar in appearance to silicon. It is a metalloid in the carbon group that is chemically similar to its group neighbors ...

InGaP Indium gallium phosphide (InGaP), also called gallium indium phosphide (GaInP), is a semiconductor composed of indium, gallium and phosphorus. It is used in high-power and high-frequency electronics because of its superior electron velocity with ...

₂, and

gallium arsenide Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is a III-V direct band gap semiconductor with a zinc blende crystal structure. Gallium arsenide is used in the manufacture of devices such as microwave frequency integrated circuits, monolithic microwave integrated c ...

to achieve their efficiency.

References

External links

* http://www.spectrolab.com Boeing mergers and acquisitions Sylmar, Los Angeles Solar energy companies of the United States Manufacturing companies established in 1956 Manufacturing companies based in Los Angeles 1975 mergers and acquisitions 2000 mergers and acquisitions {{US-manufacturing-company-stub