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GaN Nuclear Batteries: Radiation Modeling for the Accelerated Contact Exposure of Betavoltaics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2020

Lance Hubbard ,
Christian Cowles ,
Andrew Prichard ,
Gary Sevigny ,
Jesse Johns ,
Duriem Calderin Morales ,
Libor Kovarik ,
Erin Fuller ,
Bethany Matthews  and
David Schwellenbach
Lance Hubbard*
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 902 Battelle Blvd. RichlandWA, 99354, USA MSIN: J4-60
Christian Cowles*
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 902 Battelle Blvd. RichlandWA, 99354, USA MSIN: J4-60
Andrew Prichard
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 902 Battelle Blvd. RichlandWA, 99354, USA MSIN: J4-60
Gary Sevigny
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 902 Battelle Blvd. RichlandWA, 99354, USA MSIN: J4-60
Jesse Johns
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 902 Battelle Blvd. RichlandWA, 99354, USA MSIN: J4-60
Duriem Calderin Morales
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 902 Battelle Blvd. RichlandWA, 99354, USA MSIN: J4-60
Libor Kovarik
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 902 Battelle Blvd. RichlandWA, 99354, USA MSIN: J4-60
Erin Fuller
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 902 Battelle Blvd. RichlandWA, 99354, USA MSIN: J4-60
Bethany Matthews
Affiliation:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory 902 Battelle Blvd. RichlandWA, 99354, USA MSIN: J4-60
David Schwellenbach
Affiliation:
Mission Support and Test Services, Contractor to US DOE, Los Alamos Office 2900 East Road, Los Alamos, NM, 87544, USA
*
*E-mail: Lance.hubbard@pnnl.gov, Christian.cowles@pnnl.gov
*E-mail: Lance.hubbard@pnnl.gov, Christian.cowles@pnnl.gov
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Abstract

Betavoltaics (BV) cells (or nuclear batteries) have long-lasting power and high volumetric energy densities that open a broad range of applications that are not currently available, especially in low-power electronics for the internet-of-things, internal medical devices, and harsh environments. The introduction of very low-power electronics has opened up a market for the wide and accepted use of BV cells. As BVs have potentially decades-long useful lifetimes and are anticipated to be used in harsh environments, a method to describe accelerated contact aging has been developed. Monte Carlo radiation simulations show that energy can be deposited in the interface 10-50 times faster than real-world applications. The models can be used to design contact aging experiments for BV cell deployments.

Keywords

electronic materialsimulationelectron irradiationradiation effectsdevices
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Advances , Volume 5 , Issue 27-28: Energy & Environment , 2020 , pp. 1483 - 1489
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Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2020

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