Betavoltaic performance under extreme temperatures

Autor: Adams Tom, Revankar Shripad T., Cabauy Peter, Elkind Bret, Cheu Darrell
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2016
Předmět:
Zdroj: Nuclear Technology and Radiation Protection, Vol 31, Iss 4, Pp 356-360 (2016)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1451-3994
1452-8185
DOI: 10.2298/NTRP1604356A
Popis: Longevity of sensors and portable devices is severely limited by temperature, chemical instability, and electrolyte leakage issues associated with conventional electrochemical batteries. Betavoltaics, which operate similar to photo voltaics, can operate in a wide temperature range safely without permanent degradation. Though not a new concept, which began in the 1950's and peaked in the mid 1970's, research has been minimal and sporadic until recent advancements in ultra-low power electronics and materialization of low power applications. The technology is rapidly maturing, generating research, and development in increasing the beta emitting source and semiconductor efficiencies. This study presents an update on betavoltaic technology, results from temperature evaluation on commercially available General Licensed betavoltaic cells, development of a hybrid system for latent and burst power, modeling and simulation techniques and results, and current and proposed research and development. Betavoltaic performance was successfully demonstrated for a wide temperature range (-30°C to 70°C). Short circuit current and open circuit voltage were used to compare electrical performance. Results indicate that the open-circuit voltage and maximum power decreased as temperature increased due to increases in the semiconductor's intrinsic carrier concentration.
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