• ETRI Journal
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.254-261
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• 2019

Distinct from conventional energy-harvesting (EH) technologies, such as the use of photovoltaic, piezoelectric, and thermoelectric effects, betavoltaic energy conversion can consistently generate uniform electric power, independent of environmental variations, and provide a constant output of high DC voltage, even under conditions of ultra-low-power EH. It can also dramatically reduce the energy loss incurred in the processes of voltage boosting and regulation. This study realized betavoltaic cells comprised of p-i-n junctions based on silicon carbide, fabricated through a customized semiconductor recipe, and a Ni foil plated with a Ni-63 radioisotope. The betavoltaic energy converter (BEC) includes an array of 16 parallel-connected betavoltaic cells. Experimental results demonstrate that the series and parallel connections of two BECs result in an open-circuit voltage $V_{oc}$ of 3.06 V with a short-circuit current $I_{sc}$ of 48.5 nA, and a $V_{oc}$ of 1.50 V with an $I_{sc}$ of 92.6 nA, respectively. The capacitor charging efficiency in terms of the current generated from the two series-connected BECs was measured to be approximately 90.7%.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.173-179
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• 2017

The small-scale electroplating device was designed and fabricated for Ni-63 sealed source (foil type) with a high specific activity needed for production of betavoltaic battery. The condition of Ni electroplating was optimized by using fabricated electroplating device to establish a Ni-63 electroplating condition on the Ni foil. The results showed that the optimum surface morphology and thickness of Ni deposit was obtained for 1,758 seconds at a current density of $15mA{\cdot}cm^{-2}$ with 0.5% tween 20. Radioisotope Ni-63 electroplating was implemented under established condition. The radioactivity of Ni-63 sealed source was calculated to $28mCi{\cdot}cm^{-2}$, and the thickness of Ni-63 deposit was about $2.4{\mu}m$.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.1284-1288
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• 2021

In this work, we propose and design a GaN-based diode with a p-doped GaN (p-GaN) multi-well structure for high efficiency betavoltaic (BV) cells. The short-circuit current density (J_SC) and opencircuit voltage (V_OC) of the devices were investigated with variations of parameters such as the doping concentration, height, width of the p-GaN well region, well-to-well gap, and number of well regions. The J_SC of the device was significantly improved by a wider depletion area, which was obtained by applying the multi-well structure. The optimized device achieved a higher output power density by 8.6% than that of the conventional diode due to the enhancement of J_SC. The proposed device structure showed a high potential for a high efficiency BV cell candidate.