Temperature effect of a radioluminescent nuclear battery based on 147Pm/ZnS:Cu/GaAs

A radioluminescent nuclear battery was fabricated and the performance was measured and calculated at temperature of 223.15-323.15 K. Experimental and theoretical results indicate that Jsc minimally decreases with the increase in temperature, whereas Voc linearly decreases. Pmax rapidly decreases with temperature. The mechanism of temperature effect is discussed using the temperature dependency of semiconductor parameters. This study significantly guides the selection of batteries' power source under various temperature. The nuclear battery may also be used as a long-life temperature transducer.