Diamond-based beta-voltaics: an ultra-long life energy solution for use in challenging environments

钻石被大多数人称为宝石，实际上是一种半导体材料，其电子性能远远超过硅等传统电子材料。钻石对恶劣环境的极端弹性，包括高辐射和高温，使其成为制造电子设备的理想平台，用于其他半导体设备根本无法使用的应用。最近实验室生长金刚石的出现，以及用于器件应用的掺杂和加工金刚石的方法为本博士课程提供了切入点。拟议的博士项目旨在将金刚石吸收并保持稳定形式的能力与金刚石二极管结构结合起来，作为氚的β源，可以预期在传统电池技术无法解决的许多环境中使用的高效超稳定β -光伏装置。因此，金刚石结构将在广泛的氚（氘）增强条件下进行表征，并在加速寿命测试条件下评估这些层的材料稳定性。这些材料用于未来β -光伏电池能源解决方案的前景将得到充分评估。

Known to most as a gemstone, Diamond is actually a semiconductor material, with electronic properties that far surpass those of conventional electronic materials such as silicon. Diamonds extreme resilience towards hostile environments, including high radiation and high temperatures make it an ideal platform for the fabrication of electronic devices for use in applications where other semiconductor devices simply fail. The recent emergence of laboratory grown diamond, and methods for doping and processing diamond for device applications provide the entry point for this PhD programme. The proposed PhD project aims to ally the capability of diamond to absorb, and maintain in a stable form, tritium as a beta source, with a diamond diode structure for what can be anticipated to be a high efficiency ultra-stable beta-voltaic device for use in many environments that conventional battery technology cannot address. As such, diamond structures will be characterised and under a wide-range of tritium(deuterium) enhanced conditions, and the material stability of these layers evaluated under accelerated lifetime test conditions. The prospects for these materials to be used in future beta-voltaic battery energy solutions will be fully evaluated.