Abstract
In this work, energy converters, which contain a GaP–Si heterojunction and Si-based Schottky barrier diodes with Al, Ti, Ag, and W, are used to convert 2 μm-thick 63Ni radioactive source energy into electrical energy. First, energy deposition distributions of the 63Ni radioactive source in these converters are simulated by using the Monte Carlo method. Then, the electrical output properties of the 63Ni/GaP–Si cell and 63Ni/metal–Si cell are determined through the numerical calculation. For the 63Ni/GaP–Si cell, with the optimized thickness of the GaP layer and doping concentration of Si, the maximum output power density and the conversion efficiency are 0.189 µW cm−2 and 1.83%, respectively. For the Si-based Schottky barrier cells with Al, Ti, Ag, and W, the 63Ni/Al–Si cell has the best electrical output properties with the same thickness of the metal layer and doping concentration of Si. When the thickness of metal Al is 0.1 µm and the doping concentration Na is 1 × 1013 cm−3, the maximum output power density and the conversion efficiency are 0.121 µW cm−2 and 1.18%, respectively. The calculation results indicate that the 63Ni/GaP–Si battery has better electrical output properties than the 63Ni/Al–Si Schottky battery. These results are valuable for fabricating practical batteries.
Highlights
The quest for a viable nuclear battery began soon after the discovery of radiation in the early 1900s, and a betavoltaic battery was first demonstrated in the 1950s.1,2 The principles of operation of a betavoltaic battery are similar to those of a solar cell in many respects.2,4 A betavoltaic battery is a semiconductor energy conversion device (e.g., p–n junction or Schottky barrier diode), which utilizes beta radiation energy to generate electron–hole pairs by means of ionizing radiation in the matter
In order to improve the energy conversion efficiency of a nuclear battery, there are constant changes made in the energy converters
The experimental results showed that its energy conversion efficiency was about 0.15% under the irradiation of a 63Ni radioactive source with 3.3 mCi cm−2.8 In 2020, a betavoltaic cell based on the reduced graphene oxide/Si heterojunction was studied, and its energy conversion efficiency was 3.9%
Summary
The quest for a viable nuclear battery began soon after the discovery of radiation in the early 1900s, and a betavoltaic battery was first demonstrated in the 1950s.1,2 The principles of operation of a betavoltaic battery are similar to those of a solar cell in many respects. A betavoltaic battery is a semiconductor energy conversion device (e.g., p–n junction or Schottky barrier diode), which utilizes beta radiation energy to generate electron–hole pairs by means of ionizing radiation in the matter. A betavoltaic battery is a semiconductor energy conversion device (e.g., p–n junction or Schottky barrier diode), which utilizes beta radiation energy to generate electron–hole pairs by means of ionizing radiation in the matter. The experimental results showed that its energy conversion efficiency was about 0.15% under the irradiation of a 63Ni radioactive source with 3.3 mCi cm−2.8 In 2020, a betavoltaic cell based on the reduced graphene oxide/Si heterojunction was studied, and its energy conversion efficiency was 3.9%.9. The maximum output power density can reach 22.9 nW cm−2 by optimizing the doping concentrations Their results showed that the battery has greater carrier collection efficiency, higher open-circuit voltage, and larger maximum output power than the 63Ni/Si homojunction cell.. Most research studies of heterojunction nuclear batteries has focused on the fabrication of devices and ignored the detailed theoretical calculation. The theoretical calculations on the maximum electrical properties of these batteries are determined
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