The Betavoltaic Pacemaker Power Source

Matheson, William

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-66187-7_25

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Promethium-147 is used in long-life atomic batteries (Flicker et al, 1964 ), in which small-scale promethium samples are inserted into a semiconductor matrix to transform their beta emission into electricity (Matheson, 1975 ). The mean beta energy of 147 Pm is 62 keV (Shao et al, 2017 ).…”

Section: Power Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Radioisotope batteries are usually either thermoelectric (containing Pu or Am) (Wiss et al, 2017 ) based on the heat generated from radioactive decay, or betavoltaic (alphavoltaic) based on electron/hole pair generation in a semiconductor (such as 147 Pm or other isotopes like tritium or 63 Ni) (Gale et al, 1975 ; Purdy, 1986 ; Spencer and Chandrashekhar, 2013 ; Murphy et al, 2019 ; Xue et al, 2019 ). Betavoltaic batteries, compared with thermoelectric batteries (Matheson, 1975 ), are characterized by a smaller size and a more reasonable price. Betavoltaics also have the characteristic of lower power or current (than thermoelectric or even Li-ion batteries for example) (Gale et al, 1975 ; Chandrashekhar et al, 2006 , 2007 ; Olsen et al, 2012 ; Murphy et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Power Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Promethium: To Strive, to Seek, to Find and Not to Yield

Elkina

Kurushkin

2020

Front. Chem.

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Promethium (Pm), element #61, got its name from the Greek Titan Prometheus, who stole fire from Zeus and passed it to people. The only element in the lanthanide series of the periodic table with no stable isotopes, Pm has found an impressive number of applications since its announcement in 1947 after World War II. Despite promethium having 38 known isotopes, 147 Pm is by far the most utilized and useful one. Promethium is used in long-life atomic batteries for satellites or space probes, satellite-to-submarine laser communication systems, "cosmic clocks" for the measurement of cosmic rays lifetime, monitoring of the changes in water content of citrus leaves caused by wetting and drying cycles in the soil, radiotherapy, and even for prevention of dandruff, to name but a few applications. During the Moon expeditions, Pm was used to illuminate instruments in the Apollo landing modules; currently it is used during preparations for long-term interplanetary missions (e.g., Mars) to simulate space conditions on Earth. This mini review offers a comprehensive illustration of promethium's history, synthesis techniques, properties, and its major applications in science, technology, and everyday life.

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Section: Power Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%