Conventional chemical batteries suffer from significant limitations due to their limited energy storage capacity and rapid degradation over time. Betavoltaic batteries overcome these issues by directly converting the energy released through radioactive decay (beta particles) into electricity, providing a stable and continuous power supply for decades, depending on the half-life of the radioisotope employed.
The invention is distinguished by an innovative nanostructured design, based on the combination of graphene with black silicon and 3D-printed silicon carbide (graphene/SiC), integrated with charged electret layers. This unique technological approach enables a substantial increase in energy conversion efficiency, exceeding 20%, compared with the few-percent efficiency typically achieved by conventional betavoltaic technologies.