Betavoltaic cell

A betavoltaic device (betavoltaic cell or betavoltaic battery) is a type of nuclear battery that generates electric current from beta particles (electrons or positrons) emitted from a radioactive source, using semiconductor junctions. A common source used is the hydrogenisotopetritium. Unlike most nuclear power sources which use nuclear radiation to generate heat which then is used to generate electricity, betavoltaic devices use a non-thermal conversion process, converting the electron–hole pairs produced by the ionization trail of beta particles traversing a semiconductor.