Recombination in converters of β-radiation energy to electrical energy

Abstract

β-to-electric energy converters based on high-ohmic silicon, as well as processes that provide a high conversion efficiency, have been studied. It has been shown that the conversion efficiency is related to recombination in the space-charge region of converters at low levels of injection. A technique for determining the parameters of recombination centers that is built on new conversion algorithms has been developed. These algorithms make it possible to change the monotonic (and exponential as a whole) current–voltage characteristic of the device to a singular curve and find the parameters of recombination centers. These parameters have been calculated in a wide temperature range. Regions in the temperature–forward bias coordinates have been revealed in which recombination fluxes are captured by a recombination center, which influences the saturation current of the current–voltage characteristic and the conversion efficiency.