2011/12/01 by John K Liakos · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · Engineering · #Semiconductor materials and interfaces #Advanced Semiconductor Detectors and Materials #Radiation Detection and Scintillator Technologies #Scintillator #Photovoltaic system #Photon #Physics #Thorium #Optoelectronics #Materials science #Nuclear physics #Optics #Uranium #Detector #Electrical engineering
paper · doi:10.1080/18811248.2011.9711836
openalex publication_date 2011/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
A new theoretical model of gamma ray photovoltaic cells is presented with calculations of efficiency η, open circuit voltage V∞, and maximum output power P0max. The model incorporates a scintillator interfaced between the high-energy nuclear isomer and the semiconductor materials of the photovoltaic cell. High-energy γ-photons, E γ1 = 1:333 MeV and E γ2 = 1:173 MeV, emanate from nuclear isomers Nickel-60m1/m2 of Nickel-60 in Cobalt-60 decay. The scintillator converts the γ-photons into large numbers of low-energy photons. The latter photons illuminate the semiconductor materials of the photovoltaic cell. Such devices can have enhanced η, V∞, and a much longer operational life than those driven by Thorium-229m1/m2. Results are reported for devices with scintillators of various maximum emission wavelengths λmax and yields y. One mol of Cobalt-60, combined with a high-y and short-λmax scintillator, can produce V∞ ~ 10V and P0max of several hundred W/m2 to few times the AM0 power at about 70%. These are significant, indicating that these gamma ray photovoltaic cells have the potential to make a considerable contribution to electrical energy generation. Calculations are also performed using isomer Hafnium-178m2 (Eγ = 2:4 MeV, T 1/2 = 31 yr).