&lt;p&gt;
	Ultrathin, lightweight, flexible, and easily deployable solar cell (SC) capable of specific power greater than 1kW/kg are at an early stage of development for NASA&amp;#39;s future missions. &amp;nbsp;Quantum dots (QDs) and carbon nanostructures are employed in the design. &amp;nbsp;To date, initial, rudimentary optoelectric devices have been successfully fabricated. &amp;nbsp;Devices were first fabricated on rigid substrates for ease of manufacture. &amp;nbsp;These devices show enhanced photoconductivity, indicative of efficient photo-excitation and charge transfer between the QDs and polymer, which is crucial for the production of solar cells (SCs) from these materials. &amp;nbsp;Plots of the current versus voltage are used to characterize the operation of SCs. &amp;nbsp;The total film resistance decreases under illumination because photo-excited carriers are efficiently separated at the interfaces between the polymer and QDs.&lt;/p&gt;
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	&amp;nbsp;Device fabrication was then executed on flexible substrates. &amp;nbsp;The optical absorptions of quantum dot/polymer blends were observed under ultraviolet illumination and the photocurrent responses were observed to be similar to that of the devices fabricated on the rigid substrates.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;
	Next steps include investigation of other conductive polymer systems. &amp;nbsp;Optimization of blends containing ligand-stripped QDs&amp;nbsp;will be sought. &amp;nbsp;Uniform dispersion of the QDs into the conductive polymer is necessary. &amp;nbsp;The optimal QD/conductive polymer system will be selected and design of the appropriate novel architecture will commence. &amp;nbsp;The first approach will be the fabrication of multi-junction layers, followed by the design of patterned structures. &amp;nbsp;Architectures will be designed in order to optimize photoabsorption, improve charge separation, and increase charge extraction.&lt;/p&gt;
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	&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
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	&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;