Betavoltaic battery with a shallow junction and a method for making same
AssigneeWidetronix, Inc.
InventorsMichael Spencer, Mvs Chandrashekhar
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Abstract
This is a novel SiC betavoltaic device (as an example) which comprises one or more “ultra shallow” P+ N− SiC junctions and a pillared or planar device surface (as an example). Junctions are deemed “ultra shallow”, since the thin junction layer (which is proximal to the device's radioactive source) is only 300 nm to 5 nm thick (as an example). This is a betavoltaic device, made of ultra-shallow junctions, which allows such penetration of emitted lower energy electrons, thus, reducing or eliminating losses through electron-hole pair recombination at the surface.
Claims20
A semiconductor processing method, said method comprising:
- etching or removing semiconductor material from one or more regions of a semiconductor substrate at an angle so that resulting surface of said semiconductor substrate is not flat, compared to original surface of said semiconductor substrate, and said resulting surface of said semiconductor substrate has one or more dimples, indentations, or pits;
- wherein said semiconductor substrate is an N-type doped semiconductor;
- adding elements Si and C to said semiconductor substrate from a hot liquid;
- growing P-type doped semiconductor layer on said semiconductor substrate;
- and
- attaching said semiconductor substrate to a piece of radioisotope material.
A semiconductor processing method, said method comprising:
- etching or removing semiconductor material from one or more regions of a semiconductor substrate at an angle so that resulting surface of said semiconductor substrate is not flat, compared to original surface of said semiconductor substrate, and said resulting surface of said semiconductor substrate has one or more dimples, indentations, or pits;
- wherein said semiconductor substrate is a P-type doped semiconductor;
- adding elements Si and C to said semiconductor substrate from a hot liquid;
- growing N-type doped semiconductor layer on said semiconductor substrate;
- and
- attaching said semiconductor substrate to a piece of radioisotope material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.