dioxide as a material for rechargeable batteries is being investigated. The batteries could have high power density and potential of 4.7 V per cell. Another investigated application is in photoelectrochemical cells for solar-assisted hydrogen production where UO2 is used as a photoanode. In earlier times, uranium dioxide was also used as heat conductor for current limitation (URDOX-resistor), which was the first use of its semiconductor properties. Uranium dioxide displays strong piezomagnetism in the antiferromagnetic state, observed at cryogenic temperatures below 30 kelvins. Accordingly, the linear magnetostriction found in UO2 changes sign with the applied magnetic field and exhibits magnetoelastic memory switching phenomena at record high switch-fields of 180,000 Oe. The microscopic origin of the material magnetic properties lays in the face-centered-cubic crystal lattice symmetry of uranium atoms, and its response to applied magnetic fields. Semiconductor properties The band gap of uranium dioxide is comparable to those of silicon and gallium arsenide, near the optimum for efficiency vs band gap curve for absorption of solar radiation, suggesting its possible use for very efficient solar cells based on Schottky diode structure; it also absorbs at five different wavelengths, including infrared, further enhancing its efficiency. Its intrinsic conductivity at room temperature is about the same as of single crystal silicon. The dielectric constant of uranium dioxide is about 22, which is almost twice as high as of silicon (11.2) and GaAs (14.1). This is an advantage over Si and GaAs in the construction of integrated circuits, as it may allow higher density integration with higher breakdown voltages and with lower susceptibility to the CMOS tunnelling breakdown. The Seebeck coefficient of uranium dioxide at room temperature is about 750 µV/K, a value significantly higher than the 270 µV/K of thallium tin telluride (Tl2SnTe5) and thallium germanium telluride (Tl2GeTe5) and of bismuth-tellurium alloys, other materials promising for thermoelectric power generation applications and Peltier elements. The radioactive decay impact of the 235U and 238U on its semiconducting properties was not measured . Due to the slow decay rate of these isotopes, it should not meaningfully influence the properties of uranium dioxide solar cells and thermoelectric devices, but it may become an important factor for VLSI chips. Use of depleted uranium oxide is necessary for this reason. The capture of alpha particles emitted during radioactive decay as helium atoms in the crystal lattice may also cause gradual long-term changes in its properties. The stoichiometry of the material