Direct charge radioisotope activation and power generation

Patent · 01 January 2002

OSTI ID:874876

Lal, Amit ^[1]; Li, Hui ^[1]; Blanchard, James P ^[1]; Henderson, Douglass L ^[1]

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1. Madison, WI

An activator has a base on which is mounted an elastically deformable micromechanical element that has a section that is free to be displaced toward the base. An absorber of radioactively emitted particles is formed on the base or the displaceable section of the deformable element and a source is formed on the other of the displaceable section or the base facing the absorber across a small gap. The radioactive source emits charged particles such as electrons, resulting in a buildup of charge on the absorber, drawing the absorber and source together and storing mechanical energy as the deformable element is bent. When the force between the absorber and the source is sufficient to bring the absorber into effective electrical contact with the source, discharge of the charge between the source and absorber allows the deformable element to spring back, releasing the mechanical energy stored in the element. An electrical generator such as a piezoelectric transducer may be secured to the deformable element to convert the released mechanical energy to electrical energy that can be used to provide power to electronic circuits.

• Research Organization: Massaschusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)
• Assignee: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (Madison, WI)
• Patent Number(s): US 6479920
• OSTI ID: 874876
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

/310/376/
absorber
activation
activator
allows
base
bent
bring
buildup
charge
charged
charged particle
circuits
contact
convert
deformable
direct
discharge
displaceable
displaced
drawing
effective
elastically
electrical
electrical contact
electrical energy
electronic
electrons
element
emits
emitted
energy
facing
force
formed
free
gap
generation
generator
mechanical
mechanical energy
micromechanical
mounted
particles
piezoelectric
power
provide
radioactive
radioactively
radioisotope
released
releasing
resulting
section
secured
source
spring
stored
storing
sufficient
transducer