Full and Open Competition after exclusion of sources
Major Defense Program
Not listed
Pricing Type
Firm Fixed Price
Place of Performance
San Diego, CA 92126, USA
Solicitation Procedures
Negotiated Proposal / Quote
Number Of Offers Received
500
Legislative Mandate
Not listed
National Interest Action
Not listed
Research Type
SBIR Program Phase I Action
Primary Consortia Member
Not listed
FLEXIBLE PHOTOVOLTAIC ARRAY TECHNOLOGIES REQUIRE VERY THIN AND PRECISELY CONTROLLED DEPOSITION OF THE POLYMERIC FILMS USED TO FABRICATE THEM. IN MOST FLEXIBLE BLANKET ARCHITECTURES, OPTICALLY TRANSPARENT SILICONES ARE UTILIZED IN THE FABRICATION OF THE ARRAYS, HOWEVER DUE TO THEIR RHEOLOGY AND PROCESSING CONDITIONS THERE ARE LIMITATIONS TO HOW THIN THEY CAN BE APPLIED. IN THIS PROPOSAL, VANGUARD PROPOSES THIN AND AUTOMATED BLANKET LAMINATION AND ENCAPSULATION SYSTEMS (TABLES) THAT UTILIZE AUTOMATED DRAWDOWN METHODS AND RHEOLOGY CONTROL TO RENDER FLEXIBLE BLANKETS APPROACHING 700 W/KG AND ONLY 13 MILS THICK (INCLUDING CELLS). FURTHER, THE TABLES CONCEPT IS EASILY ADAPTED TO A NUMBER OF SUBSTRATES AND SUPERSTRATES, RENDERING "LEO TO GEO" PACKAGING AND AUTOMATION SIMPLY THROUGH APPROPRIATE SUBSTRATE CHOICE.