Russian researchers have proposed an accurate method to forecast the properties of betavoltaic (nuclear) batteries, which will make their development much less expensive, Sputnik reported on 20 August. The team includes researchers from the National University of Science and Technology (NUST-MISiS, formerly the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys State Technological University), the Institute of Microelectronics Technology and High Purity Materials of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Kurchatov Institute National Research Centre.
These cells, which comprise a radioactive source and a semiconductor transducer, have a life cycle of dozens of years and the potential for a wide range of uses from medicine to space technology but until now researchers have been unable to accurately predict their practical parameters. The Russian researchers have developed a realistic forecasting method to probe the cells that will make it possible to optimise the structure and parameters of betavoltaic cells and avoid the need for an expensive radioisotope coat. Among other things, this will reduce cost.
Professor Boris Yakimov of NUST MISiS noted: "We've imitated beta-radiation with an electronic beam. But the dependencies of the absorption of beta electron and electronic beam energy on depth differ qualitatively, so we've proposed a method that uses a mono-energy electronic beam to effect the corrective imitation of beta-radiation." He added that realistic estimates of betavoltaic cell parameters will make it possible to define the areas of their potential use with greater accuracy. The researchers' calculations have been verified with the help of a radioactive source, which has confirmed the high accuracy of their data. "Thus, based on a probe into the structure of a semiconductor we can accurately estimate the parameters of an element created on its basis with more than 30% accuracy. This exceeds previous calculation methods significantly." The research results have been published in the journal, “Applied Radiation and Isotopes”.