Title :
Nanopower betavoltaic microbatteries
Author :
Hang Guo ; Lal, A.
Author_Institution :
Sch. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY, USA
Abstract :
This paper presents theoretical and experimental studies on betavoltaic microbatteries using low-level radiation from 1/spl sim/100 milliCurie /sup 63/Ni thin films. The model indicates that powers of hundred nanowatts are possible with 50-100 milliCurie radioisotope sources. Two types of betavoltaic microbatteries are developed and tested. One is the planar silicon pn-diode with electroplating of /sup 63/Ni thin film, and the other is the bulk micromachined pn-junction structure with the inverted pyramid array. The obtained power is on the scale of one-nanowatt with an open circuit voltage of 128 millivolts, and a short circuit current of 2.86 nA. The output power can be increased using greater activity and efficient collector designs.
Keywords :
electroplating; metallic thin films; micromechanical devices; nickel; photovoltaic effects; radioisotopes; secondary cells; 100 nW; 128 mV; 2.86 nA; Ni; Ni thin film; collector designs; electroplating; low-level radiation; nanopower betavoltaic microbatteries; planar silicon pn-diode; pyramid array; radioisotope sources; short circuit current; Batteries; Chemical technology; Electron emission; Energy conversion; Fuels; Kinetic energy; Micromechanical devices; Power generation; Radioactive materials; Silicon;
Conference_Titel :
TRANSDUCERS, Solid-State Sensors, Actuators and Microsystems, 12th International Conference on, 2003
Conference_Location :
Boston, MA, USA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-7731-1
DOI :
10.1109/SENSOR.2003.1215247
