NOVELTY - Solar cells (410, 450) are fabricated by providing an actinide oxide semiconductor oxide consisting of uranium or plutonium; and fabricating a solar cell using the actinide oxide semiconductor material.    USE - The invention is for fabrication of solar cells, e.g. Schottky-barrier solar cell. It is for use in the fabrication of an electronic device and a thermoelectric device. The solar cell is an optical or infrared solar cell (claimed). The invention is also useful for the manufacture of solid-state devices such as integrated circuits (ICs).    ADVANTAGE - The inventive ICs and other electronic devices may be able to withstand and operate in higher temperatures, than conventional silicon/gallium arsenide-based electronic devices. Current semiconductor materials such as silicon or gallium arsenide can only be used under limited temperature conditions (less than 473degreesK). Uranium oxide-based materials (such as U3O8 or UO2) perform better at higher temperatures (2600degreesK), and are more stable (longer life time) than conventional semiconductors. Uranium oxides have a much higher dielectric constant than conventional electronic materials. The dielectric constant for uranium oxide is 22 at room temperature, as compared with 12 for silicon and 14 for gallium arsenide; thus, enables fabrication of uranium oxide-based electronic devices such as ICs, at much higher density than possible in silicon-based fabrication, without suffering complementary metal oxide semiconductor tunneling breakdown due to smaller (nanometer) feature sizes. Thus, uranium oxide-based electronics offer better performance than silicon or gallium arsenide. Conventional electronics, e.g. silicon-based are sensitive to radiation and susceptible to radiation damage. The inventive electronic devices are resistant to a radiation or electromagnetic interference (EMI) environment, because oxide materials are more resistant to radiation than is silicon. Thus, the inventive electronic devices better withstand the harsh electromagnetic pulse environment, such as in a confined package design or in outer space. The materials (UxOy) previously considered a liability or waste could be profitably recycled and employed productively.    DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING(S) - The figures illustrate solar cells fabricated using actinide oxide semiconductor materials, and having a p-n junction and a Schottky-barrier junction, respectively.    Solar cells (410, 450)