p-i-n Betavoltaic Cells Under Ni63 Irradiation: Quantifying Carrier Collection and Power Output

• Main Authors: De Lafontaine, Mathieu, Hunter, Robert F.H., Forcade, Gavin, Cook, John P.D., Drouin, Dominique, Krich, Jacob J., Hinzer, Karin
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Doping; Monte Carlo methods; Particle swarm optimization; Performance evaluation; Photovoltaic systems; PIN photodiodes; Radiation effects; Semiconductor device modeling; Semiconductor materials; Semiconductor process modeling
• ISSN: 2995-1755
• DOI: 10.1109/PVSC57443.2024.10748690

p-i-n and p-n betavoltaic cells are modeled combining Monte Carlo and drift-diffusion simulations to assess device performance under a nickel-63 radioactive source. Semiconductor layer thicknesses and doping were optimized using a particle swarm optimization algorithm to maximize the power output. Simulations show that beta particles can penetrate deeply in semiconductor materials, creating electron-hole pairs up to 10 µm deep. A current gain multiplier of 6500 and 5100, compared to the beta particle flux, were demonstrated, respectively, for the optimal p-i-n devices and p-n devices. We show that the p-i-n heterostructures present an enhanced carrier collection efficiency over their p-n counterparts due to their wider depletion region, and that introducing an intrinsically doped region enables an increase in betavoltaic device power output by 9 %.