Title :
CMOS compatible Multiple Power-Output MEMS Radioisotope μ-Power Generator
Author :
Duggirala, Rajesh ; Lal, Amit ; Polcawich, Ronald G. ; Dubey, Madan
Author_Institution :
Sch. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY
Abstract :
The authors demonstrate a novel 6.6% high-efficiency CMOS compatible piezoelectric aluminum nitride (AlN) thin-film based integrated β-radioisotope-powered electro-mechanical power generator (IREMPG). the authors integrate silicon betavoltaics with radioisotope actuated piezoelectric unimorph converters to efficiently utilize both kinetic energy and charge of the emitted beta particles for electrical power generation. IREMPG has three output ports generating (1) a 2.8MHz pulse remotely detectable up to 6 feet, (2) a 2.95μW low-frequency pulse across 525kΩ, for 2s every 400s, at 4.4% efficiency, and (3) 400pW-700pW average continuous power across 33MΩ at 2.78% maximum efficiency. Individual IREMPGs can be arrayed in series or parallel configurations for higher power output, and used to power low-power sensor network nodes
Keywords :
CMOS integrated circuits; aluminium compounds; direct energy conversion; low-power electronics; micromechanical devices; piezoelectric devices; radioisotopes; thin film devices; wide band gap semiconductors; 2.78 percent; 2.95 μW; 33 Mohm; 4.4 percent; 400 to 700 pW; 525 kohm; 6.6 percent; AlN; CMOS integrated circuits; IREMPG; MEMS; integrated beta-radioisotope-powered electro-mechanical power generator; piezoelectric unimorph converters; silicon betavoltaics; thin films; Aluminum nitride; Beta rays; Kinetic energy; Micromechanical devices; Piezoelectric films; Power generation; Radioactive materials; Semiconductor thin films; Sensor arrays; Silicon;
Conference_Titel :
Electron Devices Meeting, 2006. IEDM '06. International
Conference_Location :
San Francisco, CA
Print_ISBN :
1-4244-0438-X
Electronic_ISBN :
1-4244-0439-8
DOI :
10.1109/IEDM.2006.346828
