Absorber Considerations for H-3 Betavoltaic Devices

Betavoltaic converters are attractive power sources due to their long duration, continuous discharge and highenergy densities in comparison with other modes of energy harvesting. The main obstacle to widen the application of betavoltaics is their low power output. 2D Monte Carlo numerical simulations coupled with drift-diffusionmodeling were conducted to evaluate commercially available and emerging wideband gap semiconductors as potential absorbers with widely available tritium (H-3) isotope. Results show that power enhancement can be achieved by using emerging ultra wide bandgap material such as diamond. Using those materials, >40% increase in the power density in comparison with current 4H-SiC technology can be achieved.