AlGaAs/GaAs Photovoltaic Converters of Tritium Radioluminescent-Lamp Radiation

Abstract

Electrical supply sources based on photovoltaic converters and tritium radioluminescent lamps with blue and green glow are developed and fabricated. Al_xGa_{1 –x}As/n-GaAs p–n heterostructures with various band-gap widths (E_g = 1.4–1.9 eV) and compositions of the active region (x = 0.1–0.35) are prepared by low-temperature liquid-phase epitaxy. The photovoltaic converter with an area of S = 0.12 cm² upon irradiation by a green tritium lamp (wavelength λ = 550 nm) has the short-circuit current density 180 nA/cm² and output electrical power >100 nW/cm².