KEYWORDS: Particles, Gallium nitride, Aluminum gallium nitride, Semiconductors, Modeling, Ion irradiation, Radioisotopes, Monte Carlo methods, Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition, Heterojunctions
Alphavoltaic energy conversion, in which an alpha particle flux from radioisotope sources such as Am-241 is converted into electrical power through a semiconductor junction, offers the promise of a higher power output as compared to the more established betavoltaic systems. Semiconductors coupled to alpha particle irradiation, however, are susceptible to degradation from point defect damage and consequently suffer from reduced power output and operational lifetime. The ternary AlGaN alloy system, due to its high bandgap energy, density, and melting point, is a promising semiconductor system for stable alphavoltaic energy conversion. In this work, AlGaN is explored as a materials basis through both band modeling and combined MBE and MOCVD materials growth of GaN/AlGaN heterojunctions incorporating graded and doped layers. These combined studies and designs work towards a goal of achieving a stable high-power output alphavoltaic device based on the AlGaN materials system.
Decaying alpha particles exposing scintillating materials attached to photovoltaic (PV) energy converters constitute a long-lived, compact α-photovoltaic (APV) power source. A literature review of scintillating materials subsequently ranked by AMU, melting point, and defect creation were tabulated. Numerical modelling and experimental evaluations were performed measuring the parameters of luminosity and luminous degradation. The electrical power output measured from PV collecting the luminescent photons was compared to the input kinetic energy of the 𝛼-source to calculate the net system power efficiency. CsI scintillators affixed to InGaP PV produced the highest α-induced luminosity (2200 ph/MeV) and largest ion fluence (10^16) before net system power degraded to 10% of beginning of life (BOL).
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