Liquid xenon-powered nuclear voltaic system utilizing radioactive isotopes

A method of converting nuclear radiation energy into electrical power using liquid xenon, the method comprising:

• (a) maintaining xenon in a liquid state at a temperature between approximately −111.75 and −108.1 degrees Celsius within a cryogenic containment structure;
• (b) exposing the liquid xenon to ionizing radiation from at least one radioisotope;
• (c) generating excimer scintillation photons at approximately 175 nm within the liquid xenon;
• (d) absorbing the scintillation photons in a wide bandgap semiconductor converter to generate electron-hole pairs;
• and
• (e) extracting electrical current through electrical contacts on the wide bandgap semiconductor converter.

A cryogenic liquid xenon nuclear voltaic power cell comprising:

• a vacuum-insulated spherical containment vessel;
• liquid xenon filling the interior of the spherical containment vessel at a temperature between −111.75 and −108.1 degrees Celsius;
• a solid radioisotope source positioned centrally within the liquid xenon;
• a wide bandgap semiconductor photovoltaic layer disposed on the interior surface of the spherical containment vessel;
• electrical contacts on the wide bandgap semiconductor layer for extracting photogenerated current;
• and
• a thermal management system configured to maintain the liquid xenon temperature within the liquid-phase range.

A nuclear voltaic power source comprising:

• a containment structure filled with liquid xenon having a density of approximately 2942 kg/m3;
• at least one radioisotope immersed in the liquid xenon;
• a wide bandgap semiconductor converter disposed within the containment structure to receive vacuum ultraviolet scintillation photons produced by xenon excimer formation resulting from interaction of ionizing radiation with the liquid xenon;
• and
• electrical contacts for extracting photogenerated current from the wide bandgap semiconductor converter;
• wherein the liquid xenon provides a radiation interaction density approximately 545 times greater than gaseous xenon at standard atmospheric pressure.

A nuclear voltaic power system comprising:

• a plurality of liquid xenon nuclear voltaic power cells, each cell comprising a cryogenic containment vessel filled with liquid xenon, at least one radioisotope, a wide bandgap semiconductor converter, and electrical contacts;
• a shared or individual cryogenic thermal management system maintaining the liquid xenon in each cell at a temperature between −111.75 and −108.1 degrees Celsius;
• and
• an electrical interconnection connecting the plurality of cells in at least one of a series and a parallel configuration to provide combined power output.