| abstract |
A protective coating for solar cells, particularly solar cells positioned in space and which coating is a polyimide which is colorless, transparent, relatively non-brittle, has a high degree of thermal stability and readily transmits solar radiation without appreciable degradation. The coating is heat resistant and does not degrade significantly when exposed to ultraviolet radiation, and is highly effective in repelling low energy proton particles. In a preferred embodiment, the protective polyimide coating is a polymer having the following recurring structural unit: ##STR1## |