Atomic battery

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The terms atomic battery, nuclear battery, tritium battery and radioisotope
generator are used to describe a device which uses energy from the decay of
a radioactiveisotope to generate electricity. Like nuclear reactors they generate
electricity from atomic energy, but differ in that they do not use a chain reaction.
Compared to other batteriesthey are very costly, but have extremely long life and
high energy density, and so they are mainly used as power sources for equipment
that must operate unattended for long periods of time, such
as spacecraft, pacemakers, underwater systems and automated scientific
stations in remote parts of the world.[1][2]
Nuclear battery technology began in 1913, when Henry Moseley first demonstrated
the beta cell. The field received considerable in-depth research attention for
applications requiring long-life power sources for space needs during the 1950s and
1960s. In 1954 RCA researched a small atomic battery for small radio receivers and
hearing aids.[3] SinceRCA's initial research and development in the early 1950s,
many types and methods have been designed to extract electrical energy from
nuclear sources. The scientific principles are well known, but modern nano-scale
technology and new wide bandgap semiconductors have created new devices and
interesting material properties not previously available.
Batteries using the energy of radioisotope decay to provide long-lived power (1020
years) are being developed internationally. Conversion techniques can be grouped
into two types: thermal and non-thermal. The thermal converters (whose output
power is a function of a temperature differential)
include thermoelectric and thermionic generators. The non-thermal converters
(whose output power is not a function of a temperature difference) extract a fraction
of the incident energy as it is being degraded into heat rather than using thermal
energy to run electrons in a cycle. Atomic batteries usually have an efficiency of
0.15%. High efficiency betavoltaics have 68%.[4]
Contents
[hide]

1 Thermal converters

2 Non-thermal converters
o

2.1 Direct charging generators

2.2 Betavoltaics

2.3 Alphavoltaics

2.4 Optoelectric

2.5 Reciprocating Electromechanical Atomic Batteries

3 Radioisotopes used

4 See also

5 References

6 External links

Thermal converters[edit]
Thermionic converter
A thermionic converter consists of a hot electrode which thermionically emits
electrons over a space charge barrier to a cooler electrode, producing a useful
power output.Caesium vapor is used to optimize the electrode work functions and
provide an ion supply (by surface ionization) to neutralize the electron space
charge.[5]
Radioisotope thermoelectric generator
A thermoelectric converter uses thermocouples. Each thermocouple is formed from
two wires of different metals (or other materials). A temperature gradient along the
length of each wire produces a voltage gradient from one end of the wire to the
other; but the different materials produce different voltages per degree of
temperature difference. By connecting the wires at one end, heating that end but
cooling the other end, a usable, but small (millivolts), voltage is generated between
the unconnected wire ends. In practice, many are connected in series to generate a
larger voltage from the same heat source, as heat flows from the hot ends to the
cold ends. Metal thermocouples have low thermal-to-electrical efficiency. However,
the carrier density and charge can be adjusted in semiconductor materials such as
bismuth telluride and silicon germanium to achieve much higher conversion
efficiencies.[6]
Thermophotovoltaic cells
Thermophotovoltaic cells work by the same principles as a photovoltaic cell, except
that they convert infrared light (rather than visible light) emitted by a hot surface,
into electricity. Thermophotovoltaic cells have an efficiency slightly higher than
thermoelectric couples and can be overlaid on thermoelectric couples, potentially
doubling efficiency. The University of Houston TPV Radioisotope Power Conversion
Technology development effort is aiming at combining thermophotovoltaic cells
concurrently withthermocouples to provide a 3 to 4-fold improvement in system
efficiency over current thermoelectric radioisotope generators.
Alkali-metal thermal to electric converter
The alkali-metal thermal to electric converter (AMTEC) is an electrochemical system
which is based on the electrolyte used in the sodium-sulfur battery, sodium betaalumina. The device is a sodium concentration cell which uses

a ceramic, polycrystalline -alumina solid electrolyte (BASE), as a separator

between a high pressure region containing sodium vapor at 900 - 1300 K and a low
pressure region containing a condenser for liquid sodium at 400 - 700 K. Efficiency
of AMTEC cells has reached 16% in the laboratory and is predicted to approach
20%.
Stirling radioisotope generator
A Stirling engine driven by the temperature difference produced by a radioisotope.
New developments have led to the creation of a more efficient version, known as
anAdvanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator.
Non-thermal converters[edit]
Non-thermal converters extract a fraction of the nuclear energy as it is being
degraded into heat. Their outputs are not functions of temperature differences as
are thermoelectric and thermionic converters. Non-thermal generators can be
grouped into three classes.
Direct charging generators[edit]
In the first type, the primary generator consists of a capacitor which is charged by
the current of charged particles from a radioactive layer deposited on one of the
electrodes. Spacing can be either vacuum or dielectric. Negatively charged beta
particles or positively charged alpha particles, positrons or fission fragments may be
utilized. Although this form of nuclear-electric generator dates back to 1913, few
applications have been found in the past for the extremely low currents and
inconveniently high voltages provided by direct charging generators.
Oscillator/transformer systems are employed to reduce the voltages, then rectifiers
are used to transform the AC power back to direct current.
English physicist H.G.J. Moseley constructed the first of these. Moseleys apparatus
consisted of a glass globe silvered on the inside with a radium emitter mounted on
the tip of a wire at the center. The charged particles from the radium created a flow
of electricity as they moved quickly from the radium to the inside surface of the
sphere. As late as 1945 the Moseley model guided other efforts to build
experimental batteries generating electricity from the emissions of radioactive
elements.
Betavoltaics[edit]
Main article: Betavoltaics
Betavoltaics are generators of electric current, in effect a form of battery, which use
energy from a radioactive source emitting beta particles (electrons). A common
source used is the hydrogen isotope, tritium. Unlike most nuclear power sources,
which use nuclear radiation to generate heat, which then generates electricity
(thermoelectric and thermionic sources), betavoltaics use a non-thermal conversion
process, using a semiconductor p-n junction.

Betavoltaics are particularly well-suited to low-power electrical applications where

long life of the energy source is needed, such as implantable medical devices or
military and space applications.
Alphavoltaics[edit]
Alphavoltaic power sources are devices that use a semiconductor junction to
produce electrical particle from energetic alpha particles. [7][8]
Optoelectric[edit]
Main article: Optoelectric nuclear battery
An optolectric nuclear battery has also been proposed by researchers of
the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow. A beta-emitter (such as technetium-99) would
stimulate an excimermixture, and the light would power a photocell. The battery
would consist of an excimer mixture of argon/xenon in a pressure vessel with an
internal mirrored surface, finely-divided Tc-99, and an intermittent ultrasonic stirrer,
illuminating a photocell with a bandgap tuned for the excimer. The advantage of this
design is that precision electrode assemblies are not needed, and most beta
particles escape the finely-divided bulk material to contribute to the battery's net
power.
Reciprocating Electromechanical Atomic Batteries[edit]
Main article: Radioisotope piezoelectric generator
Electromechanical atomic batteries use the buildup of charge between two plates to
pull one bendable plate towards the other, until the two plates touch, discharge,
equalizing the electrostatic buildup, and spring back. The mechanical motion
produced can be used to produce electricity through flexing of
a piezoelectric material or through a linear generator. Milliwatts of power are
produced in pulses depending on the charge rate, in some cases multiple times per
second (35 Hz).[9]
Radioisotopes used[edit]
Atomic batteries use radioisotopes that produce low energy beta particles or
sometimes alpha particles of varying energies. Low energy beta particles are
needed to prevent the production of high energy
penetrating Bremsstrahlung radiation that would require heavy shielding.
Radioisotopes such as tritium, nickel-63, promethium-147, and technetium-99 have
been tested. Plutonium-238, curium-242, curium-244 and strontium-90 have been
used.[10]
See also[edit]

Radioisotope thermoelectric generator

Induced gamma emission from long-lived excited nuclei of specific nuclear

isomers.

References[edit]

1. Jump up^ "A nuclear battery the size and thickness of a

penny." Gizmag, 9 October 2009
2. Jump up^ "Tiny 'nuclear batteries' unveiled." BBC News, Thursday 8
October 2009
3. Jump up^ "Atomic Battery Converts Radioactivity Directly Into
Electricity." Popular Mechanics, April 1954, p. 87.
4. Jump up^ "Thermoelectric Generators". electronicbus.com. Retrieved
2015.
5. Jump up^ Fitzpatrick, G.O. "Thermionic
converter". scitechconnect.com. Retrieved 2015.
6. Jump up^ McCoy, J.C. "An overview of the Radioisotope
Thermoelectric Generator Transporation System
Program". scitechconnect.com. Retrieved 2015.
7. Jump up^ NASA Glenn Research Center, Alpha- and Betavoltaics (accessed Oct. 4, 2011)
8. Jump up^ Sheila G. Bailey, David M. Wilt, Ryne P. Raffaelle, and
Stephanie L. Castro, Alpha-Voltaic Power Source Designs
Investigated, Research and Technology 2005, NASA TM-2006-214016,
(accessed Oct. 4, 2011)
9. Jump up^ Lal, Amit; Rajesh Duggirala; Hui Li (2005). "Pervasive
Power:A Radioisotope-Powered Piezoelectric Generator" (PDF). IEEE
Pervasive Computing.[dead link]
10.Jump up^ Bindu, K.C.; Harmon, Frank; Starovoitova, Valeriia; Stoner,
Jon; Wells, Douglas (2013). "Optimization of commercial scale
photonuclear production of radioisotopes". AIP conference
procedings 1525 (1): 407411. doi:10.1063/1.4802359.