Investigation on a radiation tolerant betavoltaic battery based on Schottky barrier diode

Appl Radiat Isot. 2012 Mar;70(3):438-41. doi: 10.1016/j.apradiso.2011.10.013. Epub 2011 Nov 18.

Abstract

An Au-Si Schottky barrier diode was studied as the energy conversion device of betavoltaic batteries. Its electrical performance under radiation of Ni-63 and H-3 sources and radiation degradation under Am-241 were investigated and compared with those of the p-n junction. The results show that the Schottky diode had a higher I(sc) and harder radiation tolerance but lower V(oc) than the p-n junction. The results indicated that the Schottky diode can be a promising candidate for energy conversion of betavoltaic batteries.