Phillip Jenkins is the cognitive engineer for the MAE solar cell experiment aboard Sojourner. The MAE solar cell experiment uses a shape memory alloy to periodically remove a cover glass from in front of a solar cell. As dust settles out of the Martian atmosphere it collects on the cover glass blocking light to the solar cell. By measuring the solar cell current with and without the cover glass in front of the cell, a measure of how much light is blocked by the dust is obtained. This experiment will help define the requirements for future solar powered Mars missions. The MAE solar cell experiment will help to size solar panels and determine the need for dust removal technology for future Mars missions.
Mr. Jenkins has worked in the Photovoltaics Branch at the NASA Lewis Research Center since 1989. His R&D experience is in the areas of semiconductor device physics, solar cell characterization, and optical properties of semiconductors. He has published articles on a wide variety of topics including; minority carrier properties of InP, surface passivation of GaAs and InP, light trapping technology for solar cells, low temperature performance of III-V photovoltaic cells, GaAs MISFET transistors, thin film waveguides, and design of a shape memory alloy actuator for use on Pathfinder. Currently, Mr. Jenkins is involved with measuring free carrier absorption in InGaAs, performance of dielectric stack filters at high temperatures, photoluminescence of CuInS2, design of a test bed for Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) arrays and is a member of the science team for NASA's Mars Pathfinder mission. He can be reached by e-mail at:
"Low Intensity Low Temperature (LILT) Measurements and Coefficients
on New Photovoltaic Structures", P. Jenkins, D. Scheiman,
D. Brinker, J Appelbaum, Proceedings of the 25th IEEE Photovoltaic
Specialists Conference,
Washington DC , Held May 13-17 1996
"Monolithically Interconnected InGaAs TPV Module Development,"
D. Wilt, N. Fatemi, P. Jenkins, R. Hoffman, D. Scheiman, G. Landis,
and Raj K. Jain, Proceedings of the 25th IEEE Photovoltaic
Specialists Conference, pp. 43-48, May 13-17 1996.
"Optical constants of thin film gallium sulfide layers",
P. Jenkins, M. Tuma, D. Naghski and A. MacInnes, Proceedings
of the SPIE Photonics West Symposium, Palo Alto, CA, held
January 27 to February 2, 1996.
"A Rotating Arm Using Shape Memory Alloy" Proceedings
of the 29th Aerospace Mechanisms Symposium held May 17-19,
1995 in Houston Texas.
"Gallium Arsenide Transistors: Realization Through a Molecularly
Designed Insulator", P. Jenkins, A. N. MacInnes, M. Tabib-Azar,
A. R. Barron, Science, Vol. 263 March 25th, 1994.
"Optoelectronic and Photovoltaic Devices with Low-Reflectance
Surfaces", Geoffrey A. Landis and Phillip Jenkins, US Patent
Number, 5,261,970, Nov., 16 1993.
"Electronic Passivation of n- and p-type GaAs using Chemical Vapor Deposited GaS", M. Tabib-Azar, A. N. MacInnes, M. Power, A. R. Barron, P. Jenkins and A. Hepp. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 63, No. 5, pp. 625-627, 1993.