5 Watt per Kilogram Tritium Betavoltaic

The proposed innovation will significantly improve the performance of tritium-powered betavoltaic batteries through the development of a high bandgap InAlP diode coupled to a high beta-flux thin film metal tritide. Tritium has a power density of 300 W/kg andCity Labs’ new metal hydride film has a power density approaching 70 W/Kg and can be expanded to 100 W/kg.This project will investigate the performance improvement from a wide bandgap semiconductor diode, specifically with the goal of achieving >10% beta-electron energy conversion efficiency. The device will be built by City Labs with its tritium beta emitter expertise and MicroLink's metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) capability. The proposed Phase I research seeks to develop an InAlP p/n junction with a high beta-flux metal tritide for use in betavoltaic power sources. The betavoltaic p/n junction will increase the efficiency of betavoltaic devices from 8% up to 12% based on the incident tritium beta flux. The secondary goal is to investigate the release of the betavoltaic epitaxial layer through the removal of the substrate via lapidary and/or chemical etchants.