WO2004068548A2 - Dispositifs a semi-conducteurs de conversion du rayonnement a trois dimensions - Google Patents

Dispositifs a semi-conducteurs de conversion du rayonnement a trois dimensions Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2004068548A2
WO2004068548A2 PCT/US2004/000201 US2004000201W WO2004068548A2 WO 2004068548 A2 WO2004068548 A2 WO 2004068548A2 US 2004000201 W US2004000201 W US 2004000201W WO 2004068548 A2 WO2004068548 A2 WO 2004068548A2
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
pillars
semiconductor
junction
type
radiation
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US2004/000201
Other languages
English (en)
Other versions
WO2004068548A3 (fr
Inventor
Glenn Saunders
Partha Dutta
Original Assignee
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute filed Critical Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Publication of WO2004068548A2 publication Critical patent/WO2004068548A2/fr
Publication of WO2004068548A3 publication Critical patent/WO2004068548A3/fr

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G21—NUCLEAR PHYSICS; NUCLEAR ENGINEERING
    • G21H—OBTAINING ENERGY FROM RADIOACTIVE SOURCES; APPLICATIONS OF RADIATION FROM RADIOACTIVE SOURCES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; UTILISING COSMIC RADIATION
    • G21H1/00—Arrangements for obtaining electrical energy from radioactive sources, e.g. from radioactive isotopes, nuclear or atomic batteries
    • G21H1/06—Cells wherein radiation is applied to the junction of different semiconductor materials
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
    • H01L31/0248—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof characterised by their semiconductor bodies
    • H01L31/0352—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof characterised by their semiconductor bodies characterised by their shape or by the shapes, relative sizes or disposition of the semiconductor regions
    • H01L31/035272—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof characterised by their semiconductor bodies characterised by their shape or by the shapes, relative sizes or disposition of the semiconductor regions characterised by at least one potential jump barrier or surface barrier
    • H01L31/035281—Shape of the body
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L31/00—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof
    • H01L31/0248—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof characterised by their semiconductor bodies
    • H01L31/0352—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof characterised by their semiconductor bodies characterised by their shape or by the shapes, relative sizes or disposition of the semiconductor regions
    • H01L31/035272—Semiconductor devices sensitive to infrared radiation, light, electromagnetic radiation of shorter wavelength or corpuscular radiation and specially adapted either for the conversion of the energy of such radiation into electrical energy or for the control of electrical energy by such radiation; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof characterised by their semiconductor bodies characterised by their shape or by the shapes, relative sizes or disposition of the semiconductor regions characterised by at least one potential jump barrier or surface barrier
    • H01L31/03529—Shape of the potential jump barrier or surface barrier

Definitions

  • This invention relates to radiation conversion semiconductor devices.
  • PV devices such as solar cells
  • thermophotovoltaic (TPV) devices convert electromagnetic radiation directly into electrical energy.
  • PV devices or solar cells generally convert visible light directly into electricity while TPV devices generally convert heat (i.e., infrared radiation) directly into electricity.
  • PV devices may comprise suitable semiconductor materials to also convert a portion of infrared radiation to electrical energy and TPV devices may comprise suitable semiconductor materials to also convert all or a portion of visible light to electrical energy.
  • Betavoltaic (BV) devices convert beta radiation emitted by radioisotopes into electrical energy.
  • One embodiment of the invention provides a radiation conversion semiconductor device adapted to convert radiation into electrical energy which includes a plurality of semiconductor pillars extending from a base, where a semiconductor p-n junction between a p-type semiconductor material and an n-type semiconductor material is located in the plurality of pillars.
  • the device also includes a first electrode in electrical contact with the p-type semiconductor material of the p-n junction and a second electrode in electrical contact with the n-type semiconductor material of the p-n junction.
  • the device is adapted to generate electrical energy in response to being irradiated with radiation when a load is applied across the p-n junction.
  • Figure 1 is a three dimensional view of a device according to an embodiment of the invention.
  • Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 are side cross sectional views of devices according to embodiments of the invention.
  • the present inventors have realized that radiation conversion efficiency and power output of a radiation conversion device may be increased if the surface area of the device is increased by extending the device into three dimensions.
  • the current state of the art is to use wafers of semiconductor material as the energy conversion device.
  • a layer or a diffused region of one conductivity type i.e., p or n type
  • p or n type is formed in a surface of a semiconductor wafer of the opposite conductivity type (i.e., n or p type) to form the p-n junction, and the junction is then assembled into a cell.
  • the cell includes the semiconductor material and the electrical contacts.
  • Such cells are generally constructed using wafers diced from cylindrical lengths of the semiconductor, and as such, are substantially two-dimensional.
  • the power that can be produced by this cell is, in large part, determined by the surface area of the cell. Since the surface area of such a flat, two dimensional cell is relatively low, the power produced by such a cell, as well as its radiation conversion efficiency, are also relatively low.
  • the present inventors realized that radiation conversion devices that have a significantly larger surface area of p-n junction semiconductor material that is exposed to the radiation produce considerably more power than a substantially two-dimensional wafer of the same volume or weight. While there are many factors that affect the overall device efficiency, the power produced by a PN, TPV or BN cell is primarily a function of the energy of the incident radiation, the properties of the semiconductor material (i.e. band-gap energy) and the construction and geometry of the device. In the prior art flat, two dimensional cells, the energy conversion takes place in the wafer. However, the total power that can be produced is a function of the area of p-n junction that is exposed to the radiation.
  • the p-n junction area of three- dimensional devices of the preferred embodiments of the present invention is larger than that of two dimensional prior art structures, which leads to an increase in the power and conversion efficiency of the device.
  • Initial calculations show that by using micromachining techniques to form three dimensional p-n junctions, direct conversion by the devices can be increased by two orders of magnitude or more, yielding significantly improved power output and efficiency.
  • the radiation conversion semiconductor device 1 contains a plurality of semiconductor pillars or columns 3 extending from a base 5.
  • the pillars 3 are separated from each other by spaces 4.
  • a semiconductor p-n junction 7 is located in the plurality of pillars between a p-type semiconductor material 9 and an n-type semiconductor material 11.
  • the semiconductor layers 9 and 11 may be suitably lightly and/or heavily doped, as long as the radiation conversion semiconductor device 1 can generate electrical energy in response to being irradiated with radiation when a load is applied across the p-n junction.
  • the p-n junction 7 may comprise a direct boundary of the p-type semiconductor material 9 and the n-type semiconductor material 11. Alternatively, while less prefe ⁇ ed, an intrinsic semiconductor material may be located in the junction 7 between the p-type semiconductor material 9 and the n-type semiconductor material 11.
  • the p-n junction 7 extends in the pillars 3 at least in part in a vertical direction parallel to a height direction of the pillars.
  • the pillars 3 comprise a core of one of the p and the n-type semiconductor materials surrounded by a shell of the other one of the p and the n-type semiconductor materials.
  • the core comprises the n-type semiconductor material 11 surrounded by a shell of the p-type semiconductor material 9.
  • the location of the p and n type semiconductor materials 9 and 11 may be reversed if desired, such that the p-type material 9 comprises the core and the n-type material 11 comprises the shell.
  • the shell 9 contacts side and top portions of a pillar shaped core 11.
  • any suitable pillar geometry may be used.
  • the pillar surface area and aspect ratio i.e., ratio of height to width
  • the pillars are preferably packed together as much as possible without adversely affecting the performance of the device.
  • the pillars 3 are preferably formed in a dense formation, such that the ratio of pillar 3 area to space 4 area is equal to or greater than 1:1, such as 3:1 to 10:1 for example.
  • adjacent pillars 3 are spaced apart by about 1 to about 10 microns.
  • the pillars 3 may have any suitable shape and are preferably long, slender, high-surface area pillars.
  • a height of the pillars 3 is at least five times greater than a width of the pillars, more preferably at least ten times greater, even more preferably between 50 and 100 times greater.
  • the pillars have an aspect ratio of 5:1 or greater, preferably 10:1 or greater, even more preferably between 50:1 and 100:1.
  • the manufacturing process difficulty increases with increasing pillar aspect ratio.
  • the desired aspect ratio may be selected based on the availability and desirability of a particular manufacturing process.
  • the pillar height ranges from 100 to 1,000 microns, such as 500 to 800 microns.
  • the pillar width ranges from 5 to 50 microns, such as 10 to 20 microns.
  • the pillars 3 comprise cylindrical pillars having a pillar height that is greater than a pillar diameter (i.e., width). In another embodiment, the pillars 3 comprise polyhedron pillars having a pillar height that is greater than a pillar width.
  • the pillars 3 may comprise any suitable polyhedrons, such as prism shaped polyhedrons or cuboid shaped polyhedrons.
  • the pillar 3 surface may be smooth or it may be textured to contain various surface features, such as grooves and/or protrusions, to increase the pillar surface area. If present, the surface features preferably are less than three microns in size, such as one micron or less in size, and extend the entire height of the pillars 3.
  • the base 5 of device 1 may comprise any suitable support for the pillars 3.
  • the base 5 comprises a semiconductor material of a same conductivity type as the core 11 and the core 11 extends from the base 5 into the pillars 3.
  • the base 5 may comprise an n-type semiconductor substrate or wafer and the core of the pillars 11 may comprise n-type semiconductor material.
  • the base 5 and the core of the pillars may comprise p-type semiconductor material instead.
  • the base 5 comprises a semiconductor layer located over a semiconductor or a non-semiconductor substrate.
  • the semiconductor layer is of the same conductivity type as the core of the pillars 3.
  • the substrate may comprise a semiconductor wafer or a glass, quartz, ceramic, plastic and/or metal substrate.
  • the base 5 may comprise a non-semiconductor support substrate or layer.
  • the base 5 may contain a plurality of non-semiconductor pillar cores 6, such as high temperature metal, glass, quartz, ceramic or plastic pillar cores 6.
  • the plurality of semiconductor pillars 3 comprise semiconductor shells surrounding the non-semiconductor pillar cores 6.
  • the semiconductor p-n junction 7 is located entirely within the semiconductor pillars 3.
  • the device 1 also contains two electrodes.
  • a first electrode 13 is in electrical contact with a p-type semiconductor material 9 of the p-n junction and a second electrode 15 is in electrical contact with a n-type semiconductor material of the p-n junction.
  • the term electrical contact means that the electrodes may contact the semiconductor layers of the p-n junction directly or indirectly through one or more intermediate semiconductor or conductive layers.
  • the base 5 comprises a semiconductor substrate or wafer
  • one of the electrodes 13, 15 contacts a bottom surface of the semiconductor substrate 5 which is located in electrical contact with the core regions 11 of the pillars 3 and the other electrode 13, 15 contacts at least the upper surfaces of the plurality of pillars 3.
  • the base 5 may comprise a conductive non-semiconductor material or substrate, such as a metal substrate for example.
  • one of the electrodes 13, 15 contacts an upper surface of the base 5 located adjacent to and in electrical contact with the core regions 11 of the plurality of pillars 3, and the other electrode 13, 15 contacts at least upper surfaces of the plurality of pillars.
  • the semiconductor material 9 does not contact the base 5 to avoid short circuiting the p-n junction 7.
  • the base 5 comprises a conductive non-semiconductor material, such as metal.
  • a semiconductor base 5 may also be used in a lateral type device. If an insulating non- semiconductor material is used as the base 5, then the electrode 15 is formed in direct contact with the semiconductor material 11 of the semiconductor pillars 3.
  • the electrode that contacts at least upper surfaces of the plurality of pillars is located on a bottom surface of a radiation transparent substrate 17 which is located over the plurality of pillars 3 and the electrode contacts only the upper surfaces of the plurality of pillars 3.
  • the electrode may comprise a continuous layer of radiation transparent conductive material.
  • the electrode may comprise a non-radiation transparent material.
  • the electrode is patterned to be selectively located over the pillars 3, leaving gaps for the radiation to be transmitted to the pillars through the transparent substrate 17.
  • a radiation transparent electrode material such as indium tin oxide, may be formed on the upper and/or the side surface or surfaces of the pillars.
  • the device 1 shown in Figures 2 and 3 comprises an energy conversion micromodule.
  • any suitable materials may be used for the semiconductor materials and the electrodes of the device 1 depending on the type of radiation that is being converted to electrical energy.
  • the semiconductor materials may be selected from a group consisting of Si, Ge, III-N compound semiconductors, II- VI compound semiconductors and I-III-VI (i.e., InCuSe and InCuS type) compound semiconductors.
  • Any suitable p and n type dopants may be used to dope these semiconductor materials to form p and n type semiconductor materials.
  • Any suitable electrode materials may also be used, such as pure or alloyed Al, Ag, Au, Cu, indium tin oxide, nickel oxide and other conductive materials.
  • the device 1 comprises a solar cell.
  • the device 1 is adapted to generate electrical energy in response to being irradiated with solar radiation when a load is applied across the p-n junction 7.
  • the p-type 9 and the n-type 11 semiconductor material preferably has a band gap of below 2 eV.
  • the material may be selected from a group consisting of Si, Ge, CdTe, GaAs, InAlAs, GalnAs, AlGalnAs, InGaAsP, AlGalnP and InGaP.
  • the device 1 comprises a thermal photovoltaic device.
  • the device 1 is adapted to generate electrical energy in response to being irradiated with thermal radiation when a load is applied across the p-n junction 7.
  • the thermal radiation may comprise heat and/or infrared radiation.
  • the thermal photovoltaic device may be integrated in the same cell as a solar cell in order to convert the sun's visible and thermal energy to electrical energy.
  • the p-type 9 and the n-type 11 semiconductor material is preferably selected from semiconductor materials having a band gap of between about 0.5 and about 6.2 eN, such as a material is selected from a group consisting of Si, GaAs, AlGaAs, GaP, SiC, Ga ⁇ , A1 ⁇ , GaSb, InGaSb, GaAsSb and InGaAsSb.
  • a material having a band gap of between about 0.5 and about 0.8 eN such as a material selected from a group consisting of GaSb, InGaSb, GaAsSb and InGaAsSb, may be used.
  • Figure 4 illustrates a method of operation of a solar cell or a thermal photovoltaic device 1.
  • hicident visible and/or thennal radiation (illustrated by arrows) is incident on the top and/or side surface or surfaces of the columns.
  • a substrate 17 is present, then it is preferably made of a radiation transparent material, such as glass, quartz, plastic or transparent ceramic to allow the radiation to pass through it, as shown in Figure 4.
  • a load 21 is applied across the p-n junction 7.
  • the load is applied between the first 13 and the second 15 electrodes.
  • electrical energy is generated and power is produced, such as by generating a photocu ⁇ ent between the first 13 and the second 15 electrodes.
  • the radiation conversion device comprises a betavoltaic device or cell 101, as shown in Figure 5.
  • the device 101 is adapted to generate electrical energy in response to being irradiated with beta radiation (i.e., beta particles) when a load is applied across the p-n junction 7.
  • beta radiation i.e., beta particles
  • This device exploits the energy of beta radiation, which is produced in the decay of radioisotope materials, to produce electrical energy, hi one configuration shown in Figure 5, a beta radiation emitting material 19 is preferably located in the spaces 4 between the plurality of pillars 3. This configuration increases the surface area of the p-n junction exposed to the radiation.
  • a cover 17 is located over the plurality of pillars 3 and sealing the beta radiation emitting material 19 in the space 4 bounded by the base 5, the plurality of pillars 3 and the cover 17.
  • the beta radiation emitting material 19 may be located in a location different from spaces 4. For example, this material 19 may be located above the pillars 3 and/or below the base 5, if desired.
  • a p-n junction 7 preferably extending substantially the entire height of the entire surface of the pillars 3 and the base material 5 from which they extend, is immersed in a fluid beta source 19, such as Tritium gas.
  • a fluid beta source 19 such as Tritium gas.
  • the radioisotope fluid and the semiconductor substrate are enclosed in a sealed container. In this manner, the cell continues to produce power as long as the beta radiation is present.
  • Any suitable a beta radiation emitting material 19 may be used, such as promethium- 147 (Pm 147 ), promethium oxide, tritium, tritium containing substances such as titanium tritide and tritium-loaded silicon, Cf 251 , Cf 250 , Cm 243 , Cm 244 , Am 241 , Th 228 , Cs 137 , Mo", Co 60 , Ni 63 and Sr 90 -Y 90 .
  • the beta radiation emitting material 19 material may be in a solid form, such as a metal layer of promethium- 147 or packed promethium oxide powder or it may be in a fluid form, such as in a liquid form or in a gas form, such as tritium gas.
  • Any suitable semiconductor material may be used in this device 1, such as semiconductor material selected from a group consisting of Si, Ge, CdS, AlGaAs, GaP, SiC,GaN, A1N and GaAs.
  • the radiation conversion devices 1 and 101 may be formed by any suitable method.
  • one exemplary method of making the radiation conversion semiconductor device 1, 101 comprises forming a plurality of semiconductor pillars 3 extending from a base 5 and fo ⁇ ning a semiconductor p-n junction 7 in the plurality of pillars after the step of forming the plurality of pillars.
  • the method further comprises forming a first electrode 13 in electrical contact with a p-type semiconductor material 9 of the p-n junction and forming a second electrode 15 in electrical contact with a n-type semiconductor material 11 of the p-n junction.
  • the plurality of semiconductor pillars 3 may be formed by any suitable micromacl ining method.
  • the pillars 3 may be formed by etching a plurality of pillars in a thick semiconductor base 5 material, such as in a semiconductor wafer or in a thick semiconductor layer.
  • the semiconductor pillars 3 may be formed as semiconductor layer shells around non- semiconductor pillar cores 6 of a non-semiconductor material base 5.
  • the semiconductor layer may be formed by coating a high temperature substrate with the semiconductor layer by any suitable method, such as liquid phase epitaxy, vapor phase epitaxy, immersion or sputtering.
  • the high temperature substrate may comprise high temperature glass, quartz, semiconductor or ceramic substrates that can survive the 700° C temperature of the melt in the LPE or immersion methods.
  • the pillars 3 contain surface features, such as grooves and/or protrusions, then these features may be fo ⁇ ned by texturing the pillars 3 with a beam which is capable of forming such features, such as a laser beam, an electron beam or a focused ion beam.
  • the etching conditions such as power in RLE etching, are cyclically varied during the etching process of the pillars, such that the etching deviates from exact anisotropic etching to form the surface features.
  • the etching step is preceded by a photolithography step where the pillar locations in the base material are masked by a photoresist pattern and then the unmasked portions of the base material are selectively etched.
  • the etching comprises anisotropic deep reactive ion etching (DRIE).
  • DRIE deep reactive ion etching
  • DRLE is capable of forming pillars having an aspect ratio of about 50:1.
  • LIGA deep etching process may be used. LIGA is capable of fo ⁇ n ⁇ ng pillars having an aspect ratio of about 100: 1.
  • the LIGA process includes deep-etch x- ray lithography, electroplating and molding and is preferably carried out on non- semiconductor substrates, such as high temperature plastic or metal substrates.
  • non-semiconductor pillar cores 6 fo ⁇ ned in the non-semiconductor substrate 5 are then coated with one or more semiconductor layers by any suitable method to form semiconductor shells around the non-semiconductor pillar cores, as shown in Figure 3.
  • the pillar cores 6 may be coated by immersion coating by placing the pillar cores 6 into a semiconductor material melt and withdrawing the pillars from the melt.
  • the pillars 3 may be formed by selectively laser ablating the base material to form the spaces 4 and leaving the pillars 3 in the base material.
  • other micromachinmg material removal methods such as focused ion beam etching, electro discharge machining, plasma beam machining and chemical milling may also be used if desired.
  • the step of forming the semiconductor p-n junction 7 preferably comprises diffusing or ion implanting dopants of a first conductivity type into pillars of an opposite second conductivity type to form a diffused or implanted shell 9 of the first conductivity type around a core 11 of the second conductivity type in the pillars 3. If ion implantation is used to dope the pillars, then angled implantation is preferably used. If diffusion is used to dope the pillars, then solid state, liquid phase or gas phase diffusion doping may be used.
  • a p-type dopant is used in n-type pillars, then a thin region of p-type semiconductor material 9 is created on all of the surfaces of the pillars, yielding a substantially three-dimensional structure with a large surface area in which the p-n junction 7 is exposed to the radiation.
  • the step of forming the semiconductor p-n junction 7 comprises forming a layer of a first conductivity type 9 on pillar cores 11 of an opposite second conductivity type to form a deposited layer 9 of the first conductivity type around a core 11 of the second conductivity type in the pillars 3.
  • the cores are first formed by micromachinmg. These cores 11 are thinner than the final thickness of the pillars 3. Any layer deposition method may be used such as CND, LPE or NPE.
  • the electrodes 13, 15 are then formed on the pillars 3 and/or on the base material 5 by any suitable metal deposition technique, such as sputtering or electroplating.
  • the electrodes may be photolithographically patterned into a desired shape after deposition.
  • the upper electrode 13 may be deposited on the bottom surface of the substrate 17 and the substrate 17 is then placed over the pillars 3 to allow the electrode 13 to contact the pillars.
  • the beta radiation emitting material 19 is preferably placed between the plurality of pillars 3.
  • the beta radiation emitting material 19 is sealed between the plurality of pillars 3 to form a betavoltaic device by placing the cover 17 over the device 101 and/or by sealing the device 101 in a sealed container.
  • the radiation conversion devices may be used in any application where energy generation is desired, such as in remote sensing, microrobotics, MEMS devices and microbatteries.
  • the photovoltaic devices may be used in any suitable photovoltaic applications, such as remote power generation, space applications, and residential and commercial power generation.
  • the thermophotovoltaic devices may be used in any suitable thermophotovoltaic applications, such as remote power generation and power scavenging from waste heat sources.
  • the betavoltaic devices may be used in any suitable applications and also in applications where batteries are used (i.e., as a replacement to batteries).
  • the betavoltaic devices may be used as long-life radioisotope batteries wherever self- contained power is required, such as being used as power sources in munitions, as microbatteries in MEMS and communications devices and as remote sensing power sources that require an uninterrupted source of milliwatts of power for durations from 6 months to several years.
  • Betavoltaics have the potential to yield batteries that will outlast current electrochemical technologies by orders of magnitude.
  • the theoretical specific energy of advanced electrochemical batteries is generally not more than about 2 l0 3 Wli/kg, while the relatively low-activity radioisotope tritium has a specific energy of about 2xl0 7 Wh/kg.

Landscapes

  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
  • Electromagnetism (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
  • Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • General Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • High Energy & Nuclear Physics (AREA)
  • Photovoltaic Devices (AREA)

Abstract

Un dispositif à semi-conducteurs de conversion du rayonnement prévu pour convertir un rayonnement en énergie électrique comprend une pluralité de colonnes de semi-conducteur s'étendant depuis une base, où une jonction p-n de semi-conducteur prévue entre un matériau semi-conducteur de type p et un matériau semi-conducteur de type n, se situe entre les nombreuses colonnes. Le dispositif comprend également une première électrode qui se trouve en contact électrique avec le matériau semi-conducteur de type p de la jonction p-n et une deuxième électrode qui se trouve en contact électrique avec le matériau de type n de la jonction p-n. Le dispositif est prévu pour générer de l'énergie électrique en réponse aux rayons incidents qui l'atteignent lorsqu'une charge est appliquée au niveau de la jonction p-n.
PCT/US2004/000201 2003-01-21 2004-01-21 Dispositifs a semi-conducteurs de conversion du rayonnement a trois dimensions WO2004068548A2 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US44075303P 2003-01-21 2003-01-21
US60/440,753 2003-01-21

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2004068548A2 true WO2004068548A2 (fr) 2004-08-12
WO2004068548A3 WO2004068548A3 (fr) 2004-09-23

Family

ID=32825141

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/US2004/000201 WO2004068548A2 (fr) 2003-01-21 2004-01-21 Dispositifs a semi-conducteurs de conversion du rayonnement a trois dimensions

Country Status (2)

Country Link
TW (1) TW200507286A (fr)
WO (1) WO2004068548A2 (fr)

Cited By (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP2009218595A (ja) * 2008-03-07 2009-09-24 Qinghua Univ 太陽電池
CN101562203A (zh) * 2008-04-18 2009-10-21 清华大学 太阳能电池
US7663288B2 (en) * 2005-08-25 2010-02-16 Cornell Research Foundation, Inc. Betavoltaic cell
EP2099075A3 (fr) * 2008-03-07 2011-10-05 Tsing Hua University Dispositif photovoltaïque
US8263860B2 (en) 2008-04-03 2012-09-11 Tsinghua University Silicon photovoltaic device with carbon nanotube cable electrode
US8895841B2 (en) 2008-04-18 2014-11-25 Tsinghua University Carbon nanotube based silicon photovoltaic device
RU2608313C2 (ru) * 2015-05-14 2017-01-17 Федеральное государственное автономное образовательное учреждение высшего образования "Национальный исследовательский технологический университет "МИСиС" Высоковольтный преобразователь ионизирующих излучений и способ его изготовления
US20180240920A1 (en) * 2017-02-23 2018-08-23 Boe Technology Group Co., Ltd. Solar cell, method for manufacturing the same, and electrical equipment
US20210327604A1 (en) * 2019-03-27 2021-10-21 U.S. DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory Electrophoretic deposition (epd) of radioisotope and phosphor composite layer for hybrid radioisotope batteries and radioluminescent surfaces
US11355584B2 (en) 2008-04-14 2022-06-07 Advanced Silicon Group Technologies, Llc Process for fabricating silicon nanostructures

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3094634A (en) * 1953-06-30 1963-06-18 Rca Corp Radioactive batteries
US3969746A (en) * 1973-12-10 1976-07-13 Texas Instruments Incorporated Vertical multijunction solar cell
US4155781A (en) * 1976-09-03 1979-05-22 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Method of manufacturing solar cells, utilizing single-crystal whisker growth
US5383976A (en) * 1992-06-30 1995-01-24 Jx Crystals, Inc. Compact DC/AC electric power generator using convective liquid cooled low bandgap thermophotovoltaic cell strings and regenerative hydrocarbon burner

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3094634A (en) * 1953-06-30 1963-06-18 Rca Corp Radioactive batteries
US3969746A (en) * 1973-12-10 1976-07-13 Texas Instruments Incorporated Vertical multijunction solar cell
US4155781A (en) * 1976-09-03 1979-05-22 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Method of manufacturing solar cells, utilizing single-crystal whisker growth
US5383976A (en) * 1992-06-30 1995-01-24 Jx Crystals, Inc. Compact DC/AC electric power generator using convective liquid cooled low bandgap thermophotovoltaic cell strings and regenerative hydrocarbon burner

Cited By (14)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US7663288B2 (en) * 2005-08-25 2010-02-16 Cornell Research Foundation, Inc. Betavoltaic cell
US7939986B2 (en) 2005-08-25 2011-05-10 Cornell Research Foundation, Inc. Betavoltaic cell
EP2099075A3 (fr) * 2008-03-07 2011-10-05 Tsing Hua University Dispositif photovoltaïque
US8796537B2 (en) 2008-03-07 2014-08-05 Tsinghua University Carbon nanotube based solar cell
JP2009218595A (ja) * 2008-03-07 2009-09-24 Qinghua Univ 太陽電池
US8263860B2 (en) 2008-04-03 2012-09-11 Tsinghua University Silicon photovoltaic device with carbon nanotube cable electrode
US11355584B2 (en) 2008-04-14 2022-06-07 Advanced Silicon Group Technologies, Llc Process for fabricating silicon nanostructures
JP2009260355A (ja) * 2008-04-18 2009-11-05 Qinghua Univ 太陽電池
CN101562203A (zh) * 2008-04-18 2009-10-21 清华大学 太阳能电池
US8895841B2 (en) 2008-04-18 2014-11-25 Tsinghua University Carbon nanotube based silicon photovoltaic device
RU2608313C2 (ru) * 2015-05-14 2017-01-17 Федеральное государственное автономное образовательное учреждение высшего образования "Национальный исследовательский технологический университет "МИСиС" Высоковольтный преобразователь ионизирующих излучений и способ его изготовления
US20180240920A1 (en) * 2017-02-23 2018-08-23 Boe Technology Group Co., Ltd. Solar cell, method for manufacturing the same, and electrical equipment
US20210327604A1 (en) * 2019-03-27 2021-10-21 U.S. DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory Electrophoretic deposition (epd) of radioisotope and phosphor composite layer for hybrid radioisotope batteries and radioluminescent surfaces
US11875908B2 (en) * 2019-03-27 2024-01-16 The United States Of America As Represented By The Secretary Of The Army Electrode with radioisotope and phosphor composite layer for hybrid radioisotope batteries and radioluminescent surfaces

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
WO2004068548A3 (fr) 2004-09-23
TW200507286A (en) 2005-02-16

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
KR100377825B1 (ko) 반도체디바이스
EP2406793B1 (fr) Sources d'alimentation de micro-radio-isotope de densité-énergie élevée
US7939986B2 (en) Betavoltaic cell
CA1073995A (fr) Conversion de l'energie solaire
JP2014168085A (ja) 非平面太陽電池のモノリシック集積
US8373061B2 (en) Photovoltaic cells with stacked light-absorption layers and methods of fabricating the same
TW200952189A (en) Porous silicon quantum dot photodetector
CN215496783U (zh) 集成热电转换器
US20130112236A1 (en) Photovoltaic microstructure and photovoltaic device implementing same
WO2004068548A2 (fr) Dispositifs a semi-conducteurs de conversion du rayonnement a trois dimensions
US20130092210A1 (en) Light and carrier collection management photovoltaic structures
CN104051045B (zh) 串联式PIN结构α辐照电池及其制备方法
US20130112243A1 (en) Photovoltaic microstructure and photovoltaic device implementing same
KR100581840B1 (ko) 광감응형 및 ｐ-ｎ접합 복합구조를 갖는 태양전지 및 그제조방법
CN104051042B (zh) 并联式PIN型β辐照电池及其制备方法
US20160118514A1 (en) Solar cell, solar cell panel, and solar cell film
US20120180855A1 (en) Photovoltaic devices and methods of forming the same
JPH06169097A (ja) 太陽電池
CN110556192A (zh) 一种Pm-147碳化硅缓变PN型同位素电池及其制作方法
CN217982848U (zh) 一种基于氚源的条状PIN结型β辐射伏特效应同位素电池
JP4131474B2 (ja) マイクロ粒子層型の高効率太陽電池
CN114550967A (zh) 一种基于镍-63源和砷化镓p-n结器件的微型核电池
CN113921161A (zh) 一种基于砷化镓p-n结器件的β型核电池
CN113963836A (zh) 一种基于碳化硅PN结型β辐射伏特效应核电池
CN114678155A (zh) 一种基于镍-63源和氮化镓器件的微型核电池

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AK Designated states

Kind code of ref document: A2

Designated state(s): AE AG AL AM AT AU AZ BA BB BG BR BW BY BZ CA CH CN CO CR CU CZ DE DK DM DZ EC EE EG ES FI GB GD GE GH GM HR HU ID IL IN IS JP KE KG KP KR KZ LC LK LR LS LT LU LV MA MD MG MK MN MW MX MZ NA NI NO NZ OM PG PH PL PT RO RU SC SD SE SG SK SL SY TJ TM TN TR TT TZ UA UG US UZ VC VN YU ZA ZM ZW

AL Designated countries for regional patents

Kind code of ref document: A2

Designated state(s): BW GH GM KE LS MW MZ SD SL SZ TZ UG ZM ZW AM AZ BY KG KZ MD RU TJ TM AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HU IE IT LU MC NL PT RO SE SI SK TR BF BJ CF CG CI CM GA GN GQ GW ML MR NE SN TD TG

121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application
122 Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase