Study of the properties of silicon-based semiconductor converters for betavoltaic cells

Silicon $p$–$i$–$n$ diodes are studied in a scanning electron microscope under conditions simulating the $\beta$-radiation from a radioactive Ni$^{63}$ source with an activity of 10 mCi/cm$^2$. The attainable parameters of $\beta$-voltaic cells with a source of this kind and a silicon-based converter of $\beta$-particle energy to electric current are estimated. It is shown that the power of elements of this kind can reach values of $\sim$10 nW/cm$^2$ even for a cell with an area of one centimeter, which is rather close to the calculated value.