DEEP DIODE ATOMIC BATTERY OTHER PUBLICATIONS [75] Inventors: Thomas R
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United States Patent ti9] [ii] 4,024,420 Anthony et al. [45] May 17, 1977 [54] DEEP DIODE ATOMIC BATTERY OTHER PUBLICATIONS [75] Inventors: Thomas R. Anthony; Harvey E. Cline, both of Schenectady, N.Y. Cline et al., "Thermomigration of Aluminum Rich Liquid. .", 11/72, pp. 4391-4395, J. Appl. Phys., vol. [73] Assignee: General Electric Company, 43, No. 11. Schenectady, N.Y. Baertsch et al., "Gamma Ray Detector Made From. ", 6/70, pp. 235-240, IEEE Trans. Nuclei Sci., vol. 17, [22] Filed: June 27, 1975 No. 3. [21] Appl. No.: 590,866 Primary Examiner—Nelson Moskowitz [52] U.S. CI 310/3 B; 310/3 D; Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Donald M. Winegar; Joseph T. Cohen; Jerome C. Squillaro 136/202; 148/1.5 [51] Int. CI.2 G21D7/00 [57] ABSTRACT [58] Field of Search 310/3 B, 3 C, 3 D; A deep diode atomic battery is made from a bulk semi- 136/202; 357/20, 60; 148/171, 1.5, 1.6 conductor crystal containing three-dimensional arrays [56] References Cited of columnar and lamellar P-N junctions. The battery is UNITED STATES PATENTS powered by gamma rays and x-ray emission from a radioactive source embedded in the interior of the 2,790,037 4/1957 Shockley 310/3 B semiconductor crystal. 2,813,048 11/1957 Pfann 148/1.6 2,998,550 8/1961 Collins et al 310/3 B 3,939,366 2/1976 Ato 310/3 C 47 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures 12 22 V 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 30. 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 -32 22v '22 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 IE 24 24 24 24 24 24 22- 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 22- U.S. Patent May 17, 1977 Sheet 1 of 4 4,024,420 26 26 22 4 0 22 26 26 / JV ,,/,, ,V\|| I 22- -22 30. —32 24 24 24 24 24 24 V W/ 2o6c I 26 | | 26 } '26 22 22 22 22 12 22 S 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 30, 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 -32 -22 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 4- 24 24 24 24 24 24 |~24~ 24 24 24 24 24 24 22- 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 24 22' U.S. Patent May 17, 1977 Sheet 2 of 4 4,024,420 U.S. Patent May 17, 1977 Sheet 3 of 4 4,024,420 7 24 24 24 12-. 26 22 22 24 24 24 w -22 22- 30^ -32 45 22 VV? 14 24 24 j 24 f 22 22 26 26 26 U.S. Patent May 17, 1977 Sheet 4 of 4 4,024,420 25 25, 26 25 25 26 25 26 25 25 12 \MU|<||1 AVl^ll^ 22- -22 30. -32 '/' r 7V 14' 22' f 22 22 22 22 22 26 26 80 IG c#// 90 • 130 -b L Rln MOO m MIO 16 -o 160 160 \h.h.h. h nnhh 4a 156 42 n 152 22 22 22 22 154 P 24 24 24 24 150 158 158 22 45 22 4,024, 1 2 trie effect to generate electrictty. These cells are gener- DEEP DIODE ATOMIC BATTERY ally designed to use radioactive sources of thousands of curies. Because of the low penetration ability of alpha BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION particles, alpha particle emitters are used in these cells 1. Field of the Invention 5 so that low radioactivity levels outside of the cell are This invention relates to a semiconductor atomic obtainable without excess shielding. batteries and a method of making the same. Gas ionization batteries have also been developed 2. Description of the Prior Art using particles emitted from a radioactive source to Batteries were the first source of harnassed electric generate numerous ion pairs in the gas, the "electro- energy used by man and are still one of the most prac- 10 lyte" of the battery. The anode and the cathode are ticed sources of portable electric energy. Most batter- metals that have a large contact potential difference ies operate on the general principle of converting between them so that an electric field exists between chemical energy directly into electric energy. As a the anode and cathode. This field separates the positive result of this dependence on chemical reactors, the and negative ions and causes them to drift to opposite performance of most batteries can be affected ad- 15 electrodes where they are discharged and cause a cur- versely by temperature and pressure changes. In addi- rent in the external circuit of the battery. The output of tion, the shelf life of such chemical batteries is rela- this type of cell gives about Vz volt and several micro- tively limited. Moreover, as a result of the build-up of amps. chemical reaction products from the chemical reac- Thermionic batteries have been constructed using tions being utilized to produce electric current, the 20 the heat output from a radioactive source to liberate internal resistance of a chemical battery increases with electrons from an anode with a low work function and use so that an increasing share of the electrical energy to collect these same thermal electrons on a cold cath- is dissipated as wasted energy in the battery itself rather ode. Efficiencies of up to 15 percent are possible with than as useful energy in an external load. Another limi- this type of battery. tation of chemical batteries is the storage capacity of 25 P-N junction batteries have been made by irradiating such batteries in terms of available electric energy per a P-N junction with Beta particles. The electron-hole unit volume or per unit weight of a battery. For exam- pairs formed by the absorption of the high energy beta ple, electric-powered vehicles have been generally im- particles are separated by the built in field of the P-N practical because of this factor. Many chemical batter- junction and thereby produce a current. Relatively high ies must be discarded after use. Those that can be re- 30 efficiencies are possible because each high energy beta charged require inconveniently long charging times particle produce many electron-hole pairs. and can only be subjected to a limited number of charg- Finally, Compton scattering batteries have been ing and discharging cycles. Chemical batteries can be made which employ gamma rays from a gamma emit- irreparably damaged by accidental short circuiting ter. In this battery the anode and the cathode are sepa- resulting from failure in the load circuit or structural • 35 rated by an insulating material. Gamma rays emitted failures in the battery itself from vibrations or severe from a radioactive source separated from the anode accelerational forces. knock electrons out of the insulator material with a In the 1950's, a beta-ray radiosotropic battery was preferential forward direction onto the anode where developed which was superior in a number of charac- they are collected. The efficiency of this battery is very teristics to the conventional chemical battery. Beta rays 40 low. consist of a stream of high energy electrons. A beta-ray An object of this invention is to provide a new and radio isotope battery can be constructed by using an improved semiconductor atomic battery which over- emitter anode coated with a radio isotope that emits comes the deficiencies of the prior art. beta-rays (electrons) to a collector cathode that col- An object of this invention is to provide a new and lects the electrons emitted from the radioactive anode. 45 improved semiconductor atomic battery which utilizes The emitter anode becomes positively charged as beta- gamma ray and x-ray emissions from radioactive iso- rays (electrons with negative charges) leave it and the topes to generate electrical energy. collector cathode becomes negatively charged as it Another object of this invention is to provide a new absorbs these high energy electrons. Because the beta- and improved battery which will operate at low temper- rays have considerable energy and thus are able to 50 atures. overcome moderate electric field forces, such cells are Another object of this invention is to provide a new capable of producing a high voltage if enough time and improved battery with a very long life. elapses for charges to build up. With a large capacitor Another object of this invention is to provide a new in parallel with the beta-ray radioisotope battery, and improved battery which can be recharged quickly enough charge can be accumulated to give output cur- 55 by a simple exchange of fuel elements. rents of 40 amps at zero voltage and lower currents at Another object of this invention is to provide a new maximum voltages of 6000 volts after two months. and improved battery unaffected by vibrations or ac- Other means of transforming the energy emitted in celerations. radioactive decay into electrical energy have been de- Another object of this invention is to provide a new veloped in recent years. Flourescence/Photoelectric 60 and improved battery which will not be damaged by an batteries achieve an indirect nuclear to electrical en- accidental short circuit. ergy conversion by using radiation to excite fluorescent Another object of this invention is to provide a new material and using the generated light to operate a and improved battery which is light and small in size photoelectric cell. The overall efficiency of this battery relative to the energy it produces.