Reliable and long-lasting power sources are crucial for autonomous systems operating in extreme environments, such as space missions, deep-sea sensors, and implantable medical devices. In this regard, alphavoltaic cells, which convert the kinetic energy of α particles into electricity, are a promising alternative due to their potential high energy density and prolonged operational lifetimes. In this article, the use of the inorganic halide perovskite CsPbBr3 is investigated as the active material in a CsPbBr3/Ga2O3 heterojunction alphavoltaic cell. The devices were fabricated using close-space sublimation to deposit thick perovskite thin films and then experimentally tested under 210Po α irradiation in combination with Monte Carlo-based simulations. The CsPbBr3/Ga2O3 heterojunction showed an open-circuit voltage of 1.0 V with a short-circuit current density of 2.2 × 10-7 A/cm2. Experimental charge collection in the resulting devices was 8.5 μC/cm2 in a capacitor-based setup and 68.69 μC/cm2 with a multichannel analyzer. The expected charge yield was calculated to be ∼408 μC/cm2. More importantly, the device maintained its structural and electrical integrity after prolonged irradiation, demonstrating excellent material stability. These findings establish perovskite-based alphavoltaics as viable candidates for high-efficiency nuclear energy harvesting with potential applications in scalable, autonomous, and maintenance-free power systems. This work represents the first demonstration of thick, close-space sublimation-grown CsPbBr3-based alphavoltaic devices exhibiting long-term structural and electrical stability under prolonged α irradiation.
Fernandez-Izquierdo et al. (Mon,) studied this question.