Noble Gas-Based Nuclear Voltaic Power Source Using Radioisotopes in Aerosol Form

A method of generating electrical power from nuclear radiation, the method comprising:

• (a) selecting a noble gas scintillation medium from the group consisting of xenon, krypton, argon, neon, helium, and combinations thereof based on its scintillation yield, emission wavelength, and compatibility with a target wide bandgap semiconductor converter;
• (b) dispersing at least one radioisotope as aerosol particles within the selected noble gas;
• (c) generating excimer scintillation photons by interaction of ionizing radiation from the radioisotope aerosol with the noble gas;
• (d) absorbing the excimer scintillation photons in the wide bandgap semiconductor converter to generate electron-hole pairs;
• and
• (e) extracting electrical current from the wide bandgap semiconductor converter through electrical contacts.

A nuclear voltaic power source comprising:

• a containment vessel enclosing at least one noble gas selected from xenon, krypton, argon, neon, and helium;
• a radioisotope aerosol uniformly dispersed within the noble gas, the aerosol comprising particles having an optimized size selected based on the radiation type and energy of the radioisotope and the density and stopping power of the selected noble gas;
• a wide bandgap semiconductor converter selected to have an absorption edge matched to or below the emission wavelength of the excimer scintillation photons produced by the selected noble gas;
• and
• electrical contacts for extracting photogenerated charge from the wide bandgap semiconductor converter.

A nuclear voltaic power source comprising:

• a containment structure filled with a noble gas medium comprising a mixture of at least two noble gases selected from xenon, krypton, argon, neon, and helium;
• a radioisotope dispersed as aerosol particles within the noble gas mixture;
• a wide bandgap semiconductor converter disposed to receive scintillation photons generated by excimer formation in the noble gas mixture;
• and
• electrical contacts for extracting photogenerated charge carriers from the wide bandgap semiconductor converter.

A nuclear voltaic power system comprising:

• a plurality of nuclear voltaic power cells, wherein at least two cells contain different noble gases selected from xenon, krypton, argon, neon, and helium;
• each cell comprising a containment vessel, at least one radioisotope dispersed as aerosol within the noble gas, a wide bandgap semiconductor converter matched to the emission wavelength of the noble gas in that cell, and electrical contacts;
• and
• an electrical interconnection connecting the plurality of cells in at least one of a series and a parallel configuration.