Abstract
Among the various micro-powers being investigated, betavoltaic batteries are very attractive for numerous applications because of their advantages of high energy density, long life, strong anti-interference, and so on. Based on the basic principle of the betavoltaic effect, the current paper adopted the Monte Carlo N-Particle code to simulate the transport processes of β particles in semiconductor materials and to establish the calculation formulas for nuclear radiation-generated current, open circuit voltage, and so on. By discussing the effect of minority carrier diffusion length, doping concentration, and junction depth on the property of batteries, the present work concluded that the best parameters for batteries are the use of silicon and the radioisotope Ni-63, i.e., Ni-63 with a mass thickness of 1 mg/cm2, N a =1×1019 cm−3, N d =3.16×1016 cm−3, junction area of 1 cm2, junction depth of 0.3 μm, and so on. Under these parameters the short-circuit current, open circuit voltage, output power, and conversion efficiency are 573.3 nA, 0.253 V, 99.85 nW, and 4.94%, respectively. Such parameters are valuable for micro-power fields, such as micro-electromechanical systems and pacemakers, among others.
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Tang, X., Ding, D., Liu, Y. et al. Optimization design and analysis of Si-63Ni betavoltaic battery. Sci. China Technol. Sci. 55, 990–996 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-012-4752-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-012-4752-6