Spectrolab

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Spectrolab is a manufacturer of space solar cells and panels headquartered in Sylmar, California. It is a subsidiary of The Boeing Company, and part of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. Spectrolab was founded in 1956 by Alfred E. Mann, a billionaire American entrepreneur and philanthropist. Spectrolab was originally a division of Textron. Spectrolab was acquired by Hughes Aircraft Company 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 have a minimum average efficiency of 29.5% to AIAA-2005-111 and AIAA-2005-112 requirements.{{Cite web |url=http://www.spectrolab.com/DataSheets/NeXtTJ/nxttj.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090521070807/http://www.spectrolab.com/DataSheets/NeXtTJ/nxttj.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-05-21 |title= Datasheet: 29.9% NeXt Triple Junction (XTJ) Solar Cells (Wayback machine)|publisher = Spectrolab}} In 2006 testing at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory demonstrated an efficiency of 40.7% using triple-junction solar cells developed by Spectrolab under concentration.{{Citation needed|reason=Need reference|date=May 2019}}

In 2013, testing at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory demonstrated an efficiency of 38.7% without concentration, a new world record at the time.{{Cite web|date=2013-11-20|title=Spectrolab beats its own solar cell efficiency world record|url=https://newatlas.com/spectrolab-solar-cell-efficiency-world-record/29845/|access-date=2020-07-30|website=New Atlas|language=en-US}}

Spectrolab claims to have manufactured over 4 million space qualified multi-junction solar cells or solar panels to the industry as of 2013{{Citation needed|reason=Need source|date=May 2019}}.

Spectrolab has recently geared its highly efficient space solar cell technology for terrestrial purposes with great success{{Citation needed|reason=Add success figures, sales? customer ratings?|date=May 2019}} using concentrators. Spectrolab's terrestrial concentrating cell boasts greater than 30% AM1.5D min. avg. efficiency from 200 to 400 Suns concentration in production.{{Cite web |url=http://www.spectrolab.com/DataSheets/TerCel/tercell.pdf|title=Triple-Junction Terrestrial Concentrator Solar Cells |publisher = Spectrolab}}