Design Optimization of Radionuclide Nano-Scale Batteries

Conference · Wed Oct 06 00:00:00 EDT 2004

OSTI ID:840305

Schoenfeld, D W; Tulenko, J S; Wang, J; Smith, B

Radioisotopes have been used for power sources in heart pacemakers and space applications dating back to the 50's. Two key properties of radioisotope power sources are high energy density and long half-life compared to chemical batteries. The tritium battery used in heart pacemakers exceeds 500 mW-hr, and is being evaluated by the University of Florida for feasibility as a MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical Systems) power source. Conversion of radioisotope sources into electrical power within the constraints of nano-scale dimensions requires cutting-edge technologies and novel approaches. Some advances evolving in the III-V and II-IV semiconductor families have led to a broader consideration of radioisotopes rather free of radiation damage limitations. Their properties can lead to novel battery configurations designed to convert externally located emissions from a highly radioactive environment. This paper presents results for the analytical computational assisted design and modeling of semiconductor prototype nano-scale radioisotope nuclear batteries from MCNP and EGS programs. The analysis evaluated proposed designs and was used to guide the selection of appropriate geometries, material properties, and specific activities to attain power requirements for the MEMS batteries. Plans utilizing high specific activity radioisotopes were assessed in the investigation of designs employing multiple conversion cells and graded junctions with varying band gap properties. Voltage increases sought by serial combination of VOC s are proposed to overcome some of the limitations of a low power density. The power density is directly dependent on the total active areas.

• Research Organization: University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (US)
• Sponsoring Organization: none (US)
• OSTI ID: 840305
• Resource Relation: Conference: Americas Nuclear Energy Symposium (ANES 2004), Miami, FL (US), 10/03/2004--10/06/2004; Other Information: PBD: 6 Oct 2004
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

07 ISOTOPES AND RADIATION SOURCES
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
AGE ESTIMATION
CARDIAC PACEMAKERS
DESIGN
DIMENSIONS
ENERGY DENSITY
HALF-LIFE
NUCLEAR ENERGY
OPTIMIZATION
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
POWER DENSITY
RADIATIONS
RADIOISOTOPES
SIMULATION
TRITIUM
VOLATILE MATTER
NESDPS Office of Nuclear Energy Space and Defense Power Systems
RADIOISOTOPE
NUCLEAR BATTERY
NANO-SCALE DESIGN
MCNP
EGS
ALPHA
BETA
CALCULATIONS