Designing SiC Betavoltaic Cells to Operate under 3H and 63Ni
Monte Carlo simulations, Poisson-drift-diffusion calculations, and particle swarm optimizations are performed to model and optimize p-n and p-i-n SiC betavoltaic cells operating under 3H and 63Ni radioisotopes. Our calculations show that the electron-hole pair generation profiles reach 2 μm and 15 μm-deep in the SiC cells under 3H and 63Ni, respectively. Our optimized designs have a 2 μm and >10 μm-thick heterostructure for each radioisotope. They ensure a carrier collection efficiency approaching 99 % over a large range of beta particle energies. The best devices have a betavoltaic conversion efficiency of >20 %.
Authors
- B. Ellis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7313-0637)
- Karin Hinzer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2414-6288)
- Jacob J. Krich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4514-0720)
- J P Cook
- Mathieu de Lafontaine (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9158-0693)
- Jayeshkumar Patel
- H. Fritzsche (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5288-8302)
Institutions
- University of Ottawa (CA)
Publication Details
- Published
- 2025-06-08
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1109/pvsc59419.2025.11133001
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Energy Technologies and Civil Engineering Innovations
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00