Russian scientists have created an atomic battery with a service life of up to 20 years
A research group from NUST MISIS has created and presented to the general public a miniature atomic battery capable of fully operating for up to 20 years.
Also, due to the use of a unique 3D structure, the dimensions of the battery are almost three times smaller than the standard ones, while the specific power has increased 10 times, and the production price has dropped by 50%.
What is the peculiarity of the new atomic battery
So, a specially developed and patented microchannel 3D structure of a nickel beta-voltaic cell was used in the unique design of the new atomic battery.
The uniqueness of this structure lies in the fact that an active radiation element is applied immediately from both sides of the planar P-N junction. This greatly simplifies the manufacture of the element, in addition, it allows monitoring the reverse current.
The microchannel structure used increased the radiation transformation area by 14 times.
What are the technical parameters of the product
The resulting element has the following technical data:
- The short-circuit current was 230 nA / cm2 (for an ordinary planar battery 24nA).
- The power was 31 nW / cm2 (for a planar one, 3 nW).
Due to such efficiency indicators in the future, the production cost of such batteries can be reduced as by at least 50% due to the competent use of a rather expensive isotope, and the size will be reduced by almost three times.
What are the development prospects
At the moment, the atomic battery is being registered and patented, which, of course, will find the widest application. So such batteries will be in demand in the space industry, in hard-to-reach places in the mountains and in the sea, as well as in everyday life.
I want to emphasize that Western colleagues have already appreciated the development of Russian engineers. Thus, in the material of the international agency Research and Markets, NUST MISIS is called one of the key players in the planetary market for beta-voltaic batteries.
The results of the scientific work of Russian scientists were published in the journal Applied Radiation and Isotopes.
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