These units would offer long life and high energy-conversion efficiency.

A family of proposed miniature sources of power would exploit the direct conversion of the kinetic energy of a particles into electricity in diamond semiconductor diodes. These power sources would function over a wide range of temperatures encountered in terrestrial and outer-space environments. These sources are expected to have operational lifetimes of 10 to 20 years and energy conversion efficiencies >35 percent.

A power source according to the proposal would include a pair of devices like that shown in the figure. Each device would contain Schottky and p/n diode devices made from high-band-gap, radiation-hard diamond substrates. The n and p layers in the diode portion would be doped sparsely (<1014 cm-3) in order to maximize the volume of the depletion region and thereby maximize efficiency. The diode layers would be supported by an undoped diamond substrate.

The source of a particles would be a thin film of 244Cm (half-life 18 years) sandwiched between the two paired devices. The sandwich arrangement would force almost every a particle to go through the active volume of at least one of the devices. Typical a particle track lengths in the devices would range from 20 to 30 microns. The a particles would be made to stop only in the undoped substrates to prevent damage to the crystalline structures of the diode portions.

The overall dimensions of a typical source are expected to be about 2 by 2 by 1 mm. Assuming an initial 244Cm mass of 20 mg, the estimated initial output of is 20 mW (a current of 20 mA at a potential of 1 V).

This work was done by Jagdish U. Patel, Jean-Pierre Fleurial, and Elizabeth Kolawa of Caltech for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. For further information, access the Technical Support Package (TSP) free on-line at www.techbriefs.com/tsp under the Physical Sciences category.

This invention is owned by NASA, and a patent application has been filed. Inquiries concerning nonexclusive or exclusive license for its commercial development should be addressed to

the Patent Counsel
NASA Management Office–JPL at (818) 354-7770.

Refer to NPO-30323.



This Brief includes a Technical Support Package (TSP).
Document cover
Alpha-Voltaic Sources Using Diamond as Conversion Medium

(reference NPO-30323) is currently available for download from the TSP library.

Don't have an account? Sign up here.