Boeing satellite contract boosts solar cell industry
The GaAs solar cell industry has received a welcome boost after Boeing won a contract to build three large satellite payloads.
Expected to launch around 2009, the satellites have been ordered by the US communications company Mobile Satellite Ventures (MSV).
After launch, they will form the backbone of an advanced network covering North and South America that will combine satellite and cellular technologies to deliver voice and data communications.
According to MSV, the satellites will then work in tandem with ground stations to provide high-speed links in remote areas and extra capacity in cities where satellite signals are frequently blocked by buildings.
The result should be a satellite-phone service for regular cell-phone users. In contrast, existing satellite services such as Iridium have demanded much larger phones to detect the relatively weak satellite signal.
MSV says that the service will also benefit emergency response teams by ensuring that cell-phone networks stay connected via the satellites even if base stations on the ground are destroyed.
The nature of this kind of network means that the satellite requires a lot of power, and Boeing will use triple-junction GaAs solar cells to supply 11 kW through 5-panel arrays on each satellite.
The Boeing subsidiary Spectrolab, which has high-volume capacity for GaAs solar cell manufacture, could stand to benefit from the deal with a substantial order from its parent company.
Based in Sylmar, CA, Spectrolab is one of two key suppliers of triple-junction solar cells in the US. However the other - Emcore - has also previously supplied Boeing with solar cells for the aerospace giant's 702 satellite (see related story), which has a similar design to the payload that will be launched under the MSV contract.
In 2004, Spectrolab said that it had made a solar cell with 37.3% opto-electric efficiency, while Emcore sells a range of state-of-the-art commercial triple-junction cells.
The new network is also set to drive manufacture of compound semiconductor RFICs, since the terrestrial portion of the system could feature WiMAX or CDMA connectivity.
Construction of the first satellite will take an estimated 44 months, with the second and third payloads following a few months later.
Boeing said that the MSV deal represented its biggest single contract for a satellite system since 1997.
