MicroLink Devices Recognized as Airbus Key Supplier

PR Newswire

NILES, Ill., Oct. 9, 2019

NILES, Ill., Oct. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — MicroLink Devices, a leader in the production of high-efficiency, flexible solar arrays for satellite and aircraft, was recognized by Airbus Defence and Space as a key supplier for the Zephyr High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS) UAV platform. MicroLink and Airbus celebrated this event with employees on October 1, 2019, in a ceremony near MicroLink’s Chicago headquarters.

Airbus representatives with MicroLink employees on October 1, 2019, celebrating MicroLink's recognition by Airbus as a key supplier of advanced solar cell arrays for the Zephyr HAPS UAV platform.

MicroLink Devices manufactures a high-efficiency solar sheet product line that is an enabling technology for electrically powered UAVs and pseudo-satellites which have significant area and weight constraints. The combination of high-efficiency and low mass enabled by MicroLink’s epitaxial lift-off (ELO) inverted metamorphic multi-junction (IMM) solar cells provides superior performance unmatched by any other solar cell technology. The latest generation of MicroLink solar sheet products has specific powers exceeding 1.5 kW/kg. The development of MicroLink’s ELO technology over the past decade has been sponsored by numerous U.S. agencies including NASA, DARPA, the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Office of Naval Research, NAVAIR, Army Research Office, Army REF, CERDEC, and the Department of Energy/NREL.

“We are very grateful to Airbus to have had the opportunity to partner with them in making continuous, multi-month solar-powered flight possible through the Zephyr platform,” said Dr. Noren Pan, President and CEO of MicroLink Devices. “Our proprietary solar cell technology provides unrivalled performance in a lightweight, flexible format and is a critical technology for the success of HAPS platforms. MicroLink looks forward to scaling up its production of IMM solar cells to support the exciting emerging markets enabled by the Zephyr platform.”

About MicroLink Devices:

MicroLink Devices is an American-owned, ISO 9001 certified company located in Niles, IL and founded in 2000. MicroLink has specialized in the growth of epitaxial structures that are used to make the high-performance transistors and power amplifiers that are essential to the high-speed communications industry. Over the last ten years, MicroLink has been a prime federal contractor on projects to develop compound semiconductor solar cells, detectors, lasers, and high-speed transistors. MicroLink Devices’ ELO IMM technology is transitioning rapidly into volume production to meet emerging opportunities for high-efficiency, thin and flexible solar sheets for aircraft and space applications.

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Airbus representatives and MicroLink's management staff gathered in front of MicroLink's offices on October 1, 2019, celebrating MicroLink's recognition as a key supplier of advanced solar cell arrays for the Zephyr HAPS UAV platform.