Chargeable atomic battery with pre-activation encapsulation manufacturing

Abstract

A chargeable atomic battery (CAB) and a standardized pre-irradiation encapsulation manufacturing method. A CAB unit is manufactured through a non-radioactive process and then placed in a radiation field (typically a fission reactor) to convert a portion of a non-radioactive precursor material into an activated material (e.g., radioisotope) for charging. After charging, the CAB unit is ready for use and can be combined with additional CAB units into a CAB stack to achieve the desired activity and then integrated into a CAB pack or a product that uses the radioactivity for the desired application such as heating, electricity, and passive x-ray sources. The pre-irradiation encapsulation manufacturing method uses a die press and sintering process to produce the CAB unit with the precursor material fully encapsulated by the encapsulation material. During and after the charging process, the encapsulation material serves as a barrier, preventing release of the activated material release.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.