Tritiated Amorphous Silicon for Micropower Applications
Fusion Science and Technology / Volume 28 / Number 3P2 / October 1995 / Pages 1609-1614
Industrial and Bio-Medical Tritium Applications / Proceedings of the Fifth Topical Meeting on Tritium Technology In Fission, Fusion, and Isotopic Applications Belgirate, Italy May 28-June 3, 1995 / dx.doi.org/10.13182/FST95-A30642
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The application of tritiated amorphous silicon as an intrinsic energy conversion semiconductor for radioluminescent structures and betavoltaic devices is presented. Theoretical analysis of the betavoltaic application shows an overall efficiency of 18 % for tritiated amorphous silicon. This is equivalent to a 330 Ci intrinsic betavoltaic device producing 1 mW of power for 12 years. Photoluminescence studies of hydrogenated amorphous silicon, a-Si:H, show emission in the infra-red with a maximum quantum efficiency of 7.2% at 50 K; this value drops by 3 orders of magnitude at a temperature of 300 K. Similar studies of hydrogenated amorphous carbon show emission in the visible with an estimated quantum efficiency of 1 % at 300 K. These results suggest that tritiated amorphous carbon may be the more promising candidate for room temperature radioluminescence in the visible.
