Abstract
In this work, we present a demonstration of a high-aspect ratio, three-dimensionally structured betavoltaic device. High-aspect ratio silicon PIN diodes were used as the semiconductor absorber and 147PmCl3 was used as the beta emitter. Three devices were fabricated with 147Pm activities of 2.4 mCi, 7.4 mCi, and 29.5 mCi. The device with the highest activity produced an initial power output of 200 nW and was monitored over a period of 8 months to observe the current–voltage behavior over time, during which time the output current decreased in accordance with the radioactive half-life of 147Pm. Small deviations in the output current of a few percent during the long-term measurement were found to be attributable to the humidity in the room where the experiment was done. The output current generated from the devices was 68–77% of the theoretical maximum, indicating significant infiltration of the radioisotope into the ridged structures.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
R.J. Nikolic, A.M. Conway, C.E. Reinhardt, R.T. Graff, T.F. Wang, N. Deo, and C.L. Cheung, Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 133502 (2008).
A.M. Conway, T.F. Wang, N. Deo, C.L. Cheung, and R.J. Nikolic, IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 56, 2802 (2009).
S. L. Bellinger, B. W. Cooper, R. G. Fronk, L. C. Henson, T. R. Ochs, T. J. Sobering, and D. S. McGregor, in IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium (2013), pp. 1–7.
J.K. Shultis and D.S. McGregor, IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 53, 1659 (2006).
H.P. Yoon, Y.A. Yuwen, C.E. Kendrick, G.D. Barber, N.J. Podraza, J.M. Redwing, T.E. Mallouk, C.R. Wronski, and T.S. Mayer, Appl. Phys. Lett. 96, 213503 (2010).
Y. Lee, H. Kim, S.Q. Hussain, S. Han, N. Balaji, Y.-J. Lee, J. Lee, and J. Yi, Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 40, 391 (2015).
J.R. Maiolo, B.M. Kayes, M.A. Filler, M.C. Putnam, M.D. Kelzenberg, H.A. Atwater, and N.S. Lewis, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 129, 12346 (2007).
H. Guo, H. Yang, and Y. Zhang, in Micro Electro Mechanical Systems 2007. MEMS. IEEE 20th International Conference (2007), pp. 867–870.
K. Zhang, G. Gui, P. Pathak, J.-H. Seo, J.P. Blanchard, and Z. Ma, Sensors Actuators A Phys. 240, 131 (2016).
K. Hogan, M. Litz, and F. Shahedipour-Sandvik, Appl. Radiat. Isot. 145, 154 (2019).
W. Ehrenberg, C.-S. Lang, and R. West, Proc. Phys. Soc. Sect. A 64, 424 (1951).
P. Rappaport, Phys. Rev. 93, 246 (1954).
M. Litz, Isotope Beta-Battery Approaches for Long-Lived Sensors: Technology Review (2014).
T.H. Smith, J. Greenborg, and W.E. Matheson, Nucl. Technol. 26, 54 (1975).
L.C. Olsen, S.E. Seeman, and B.I. Griffin, Trans. Am. Nucl. Soc. 12, 481 (1969).
L.C. Olsen, IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 19, 375 (1972).
L. C. Olsen, in Iece (1974), pp. 754–762.
C. Thomas, S. Portnoff, and M.G. Spencer, Appl. Phys. Lett. 108, 13505 (2016).
M. Litz, Monte Carlo Evaluation of Tritium Beta Spectrum Energy Deposition in Gallium Nitride (GaN) Direct Energy Conversion Devices (2014).
T. Kimoto and J.A. Cooper, Fundamentals of Silicon Carbide Technology: Growth, Characterization, Devices and Applications (Hoboken: Wiley, 2014).
C.-C. Tin, S. Mendis, K. Chew, I. Atabaev, T. Saliev, E. Bakhranov, B. Atabaev, and V. Adedeji, et al., Thin Solid Films 518, e118 (2010).
S.E. Harrison, L.F. Voss, A.M. Torres, C.D. Frye, Q. Shao, and R.J. Nikolić, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A Vac. Surfaces, Film 35, 61303 (2017).
M. Sun, Y. Zhang, X. Gao, and T. Palacios, IEEE Electron Device Lett. 38, 509 (2017).
J. Hartmann, F. Steib, H. Zhou, J. Ledig, S. Fündling, F. Albrecht, T. Schimpke, A. Avramescu, T. Varghese, and H.-H. Wehmann, et al., Cryst. Growth Des. 16, 1458 (2016).
D.S. McGregor and J. Kenneth Shultis, Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res. Sect. A Accel. Spectrom. Detect. Assoc. Equip. 632, 167 (2011).
D.S. McGregor, S.L. Bellinger, and J.K. Shultis, J. Cryst. Growth 379, 99 (2013).
J.W. Murphy, L.F. Voss, C.D. Frye, Q. Shao, K. Kazkaz, M.A. Stoyer, R.A. Henderson, and R.J. Nikolic, AIP Adv. 9, 65208 (2019).
W. Sun, N.P. Kherani, K.D. Hirschman, L.L. Gadeken, and P.M. Fauchet, Adv. Mater. 17, 1230 (2005).
J.P. Clarkson, W. Sun, K.D. Hirschman, L.L. Gadeken, and P.M. Fauchet, Phys. Status Solidi 204, 1536 (2007).
B. Liu, K.P. Chen, N.P. Kherani, and S. Zukotynski, Appl. Phys. Lett. 95, 233112 (2009).
R. Duggirala, S. Tin, and A. Lal, in Solid-State Sensors, Actuators Microsystems Conference 2007. TRANSDUCERS 2007. International (2007), pp. 279–282.
F.S. Goulding and D.A. Landis, IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 29, 1125 (1982).
D.K. Schroder, Semiconductor Material and Device Characterization (Hoboken: John, 2006).
L. C. Olsen, in 12th Sp. Photovoltaic Research Technology Conference (SPRAT 12) (1993).
H. Flicker, J.J. Loferski, and T.S. Elleman, IEEE Trans. Electron Devices 11, 2 (1964).
J.V. Iribarne and W.L. Godson, Atmospheric Thermodynamics (Berlin: Springer, 2012).
D. Bolton, Mon. Weather Rev. 108, 1046 (1980).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Murphy, J.W., Frye, C.D., Henderson, R.A. et al. Demonstration of a Three-Dimensionally Structured Betavoltaic. J. Electron. Mater. 50, 1380–1385 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-020-08611-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-020-08611-y