Granted Patent B2

US 12,525,371 · App. 18/183,737 · Granted Jan 13, 2026

Inventors: Andrew J. Zillmer (Idaho Falls, ID); Michael A. Reichenberger (Idaho Falls, ID)

Assignee: Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC

G21H1/106G21K5/02

Abstract

Claims (27)

1 . A power generation device comprising:

a radiation source;

an emitter adjacent to the radiation source, the emitter including a high-density material;

a collector adjacent to the emitter, the collector including a low-density material, the emitter positioned between the radiation source and the collector; and

a spacer extending between the emitter and the collector, at least a portion of the spacer comprising an insulating structure configured to electrically isolate the emitter from the collector.

2 . The power generation device of claim 1 , wherein the emitter comprises a metal foam material.

3 . The power generation device of claim 1 , wherein the emitter comprises a distribution of multiple emitting materials.

4 . The power generation device of claim 1 , wherein the emitter comprises at least one material selected from the group consisting of tungsten, tantalum, uranium, rhenium, gold, and alloys thereof.

5 . The power generation device of claim 1 , wherein the emitter comprises peaks of the high-density material extending from emitting surfaces of the emitter, wherein the emitting surfaces of the emitter face the collector.

6 . The power generation device of claim 5 , wherein the peaks of the high-density material comprise ridges along the emitting surfaces of the emitter.

7 . The power generation device of claim 5 , wherein the peaks of the high-density material comprise an array of raised points extending from the emitting surfaces of the emitter.

8 . The power generation device of claim 5 , wherein the emitting surfaces comprise an inner surface of the emitter facing the radiation source and an outer surface of the emitter facing away from the radiation source.

9 . An emitter of a nuclear battery comprising:

a high-density material having an inner surface and an outer surface,

at least one of the inner surface and the outer surface comprising a roughened surface including multiple peaks configured to create high-energy areas.

10 . The emitter of claim 9 , wherein the emitter is formed from at least two high-density materials distributed between the inner surface and the outer surface.

11 . The emitter of claim 10 , wherein a first high-density material forms an inner portion of the emitter including the inner surface and a second high-density material forms an outer portion of the emitter including the outer surface.

12 . The emitter of claim 11 , wherein the first high-density material comprises a material formulated to release high amounts of energy when electrons are dislodged due to impinging radiation and the second high-density material comprises a material formulated to release large numbers of electrons under the impinging radiation.

13 . The emitter of claim 9 , wherein the high-density material has an annular shape.

14 . The emitter of claim 9 , wherein the emitter exhibits a gradient from a high atomic number material to a low atomic number material between the inner surface and the outer surface.

15 . The emitter of claim 14 , wherein the high atomic number material comprises tungsten.

16 . The emitter of claim 14 , wherein the low atomic number material comprises titanium.

17 . A method of forming an emitter of a nuclear battery, the method comprising:

forming a ring from a high-density material through an additive manufacturing process; and

forming multiple peaks extending from a surface of the ring.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein forming the multiple peaks comprises forming ridges along the surface.

19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein forming the multiple peaks comprises forming an array of raised points about the surface.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (23)