SBIR/STTR Research Award

5 Watt per Kilogram Tritium Betavoltaic

Award identifier 463b633c1e0c309ea37276a5a53bd7275451febbd012ede5cf4bfe5f43d4764aAwarding agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Award amount

$750,000

Program and phase

SBIR · Phase II

Award year

2019

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Award details

Awarding agency
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Branch
Not reported
Recipient company
CITY LABS, INC.
Proposal award date
2019-08-07
Contract end date
2021-08-06
UEI
LD55BB3D8EM7
Solicitation number
SBIR_18_P2
Topic code
S3

Research abstract

The central goal of this Phase II effort is to create the worldrsquo;s first milliwatt scale betavoltaic. This project will utilize an ultra-thin, light weight, betavoltaic p/n junction, developed in Phase I, that increases the efficiency of betavoltaic devices from 8% to greater than 10% based on the incident tritium beta flux.nbsp; Betavoltaic power sources offer advantages under conditions that render battery replacement difficult, impossible, or life-threatening, and in applications where long-lasting (20+ years), continuous, low-power sources are crucial to device operation. These applications include defense electronics, homeland security, intelligence sensors, aerospace, structural-health monitoring sensors, sub-sea sensors, satellites / deep space probes, and medical devices / implants.nbsp; City Labs is the only licensed manufacturer of betavoltaic power sources which carries a General License allowing distribution to anyone in the United States without requiring the recipient to possess a radiation license.nbsp; The specific power of tritium is 340 W/kg with a half-life of 12.3 years and is readily available for commercial applications such as luminous watch dials, exit signs, medical tracers, and betavoltaic batteries. Traditionally, tritium metal hydride films have had a power density of approximately 38 W/kg (e.g. titanium tritide) but City Labsrsquo; new metal tritide film has a power density approaching 70 W/Kg and can be expanded to 100 W/kg. The milliwatt scale betavoltaic will consist of a wide bandgap III-V p/n junction, developed in Phase I, and a high beta-flux metal tritide, stacked into layers of ultra-thin junctions. City Labs will perform this work in partnership with Microlink Devices, a leader in metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) and epitaxial lift-off (ELO) junctions.

Technology keywords

Not reported

Other awards by this recipient

Verified by the same UEI. These are other public SBIR/STTR award pages, not a merged company record.

Research funding history

15 SBIR/STTR records share this UEI (2018–2025). Reported award amounts total $14,514,384. Reported amounts are not federal obligations.

Phases: Phase II, Phase I, Phase II – Direct to Phase II

Agencies: Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Agency intelligence

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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