Lunar regolith thin films: Vacuum evaporation and properties

Statistics – Applications

Scientific paper

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Vacuum Deposition, Spaceborne And Space Research Instruments, Apparatus, And Components

Scientific paper

In this work, a preliminary study of the vacuum evaporation of silicon extracted from the lunar regolith has been undertaken using a conventional electron gun evaporation technique. Thin film were evaporated on variety of crystalline substrates as well as on Glass and lightweight 1 Mil-thick Aluminum foil. Extremely smooth and featureless films were obtained. Films have essentially semiconducting properties. Optical absorption analysis sets the bandgap (about 1.1 eV) and the refractive index (n=3.5) of the deposited thin films close to that of crystalline silicon Secondary ion mass spectroscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis indicated that these films are essentially comparable to high purity silicon and that the evaporation process has resulted in a substantial reduction of impurity levels. While the purity of the ``lunar waste material'' is beyond the one of the ``microelectronic-grade silicon'', the vacuum evaporated material properties seems to be adequate for the fabrication of average performance Si-based devices such as thin film solar cells. As a result, thin film solar cell production on the lunar surface with in situ resource utilization may be a viable approach for electric power generation on the moon.

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