Diamond Schottky Barrier Diode Energy Converter Working under ∼mA Output for Nuclear Batteries

Nuclear batteries have attracted much attention because of their long lifetime. Due to the large band gap and high radiation tolerance, diamond is an ideal material for the fabrication of the energy converter for nuclear batteries. In this work, a diamond Schottky barrier diode energy converter was prepared, and the performance of the device was studied by the electron-beam-induced current (EBIC) method. The energy converter can work under an electron beam current of μA order. The open-circuit voltage of the device is around 0.8 V, and a short-circuit current of several milliamps can be achieved. The maximum energy conversion efficiency of 3.19% is obtained under a beam current of 0.2 μA at 26 keV.