⁶⁰Co Gamma-Ray Irradiation Effects in Aerosol Jet Printed Two-Dimensional Multilayered Materials

Recent advances in nuclear applications and the development of the US Space Force has led to an increased interest in radiation-detection and radiation hardness technologies.^1–3 Novel ionizing radiation-tolerant (X-rays, γ-rays, neutrons) materials and fabrication processes are needed to develop next-generation radiation-detection systems that meet size, weight, power consumption, and cost (SWaP-C) considerations.^4–6<br/> Inorganic semiconductor materials, such as silicon, cadmium, zinc telluride, or mercury iodide-based radiation detection systems are currently fabricated using a standard silicon-based lithography process.⁵ While this silicon-based electronic system enables high performance, it does have several drawbacks: its inability to conform to various structures, limited large-area processing, and relatively high cost.⁷<br/> Two-dimensional (2D) materials offer unique electrical, optical, and mechanical properties that may make them advantageous for use in harsh nuclear or space environments.^8,9 Mono to few layers of 2D materials such as graphene, hexagonal boron nitride, black phosphorus, and metal dichalcogenides have shown negligible change in performance after irradiation and are reported to exhibit high degrees of radiation hardness.^10,11 Solution-based deposition techniques allow for a cost-effective approach for rapid prototyping of devices. Additive manufacturing technologies (direct-write, aerosol jet printing, inkjet printing, etc.) offer low-cost, high-throughput production of flexible electronics, with little material waste and a high degree of compatibility to most substrates of interest.^12–14<br/>Previous studies have reported on gamma irradiation for mechanically exfoliated, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and epitaxial grown graphene-based devices. ^15–19 However, irradiation effects on printed 2D materials have yet to be reported. This work investigates the roles of microstructure and the substrate properties affected by gamma irradiation in aerosol-jet printed (AJP) 2D materials. The information gained from this study is expected to provide new fundamental insights that can guide the development of nuclear and space applications of printed 2D material devices.<br/> Radiation effects from ⁶⁰Co gamma-ray radiation are reported for aerosol-jet printed 2D-materials (graphene, MoS₂, WS₂, and h-BN) on various substrates (Si/SiO₂, glass, sapphire, and kapton). Irradiated samples were characterized through Raman spectroscopy, SEM/EDX, XPS, and stylus profilometer. Furthermore, we fabricated AJP h-BN capacitors to study the effects of gamma radiation on its electrical properties. The information gained from this study is expected to provide new fundamental insights that can guide the development of nuclear and space applications of printed 2D material devices.<br/><br/><b>References</b><br/><b>1</b> Benton, E. R. <i>et al.</i> <i>Nucl. Instruments Methods Phys. Res. Sect. B Beam Interact. with Mater. Atoms</i> (2001)<br/><b>2</b> Elgazzar, A. H. <i>et al.</i> in <i>The Pathophysiologic Basis of Nuclear Medicine</i> (2015)<br/><b>3</b> Stassinopoulos, E. G. <i>et al.</i> <i>Proc. IEEE</i> (1988)<br/><b>4</b> Morosh, V. <i>et al.</i> <i>Radiat. Meas.</i> 143, (2021)<br/><b>5</b> Maiello, M. L. <i>Health Phys.</i> (2008)<br/><b>6</b> Posar, J. A. <i>et al.</i> <i>Flexible and Printed Electronics</i> 6, (2021)<br/><b>7</b> Agosteo, S. in <i>Radiation Measurements</i> (2010)<br/><b>8</b> Editorial. <i>Nat. Photonics</i> 10, 201–201 (2016)<br/><b>9</b> Rao, C. N. R. <i>et al.</i> <i>ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces</i> (2015)<br/><b>10</b> Ochedowski, O. <i>et al.</i> <i>J. Appl. Phys.</i> (2013)<br/><b>11</b> Krasheninnikov, A. V. <i>Nanoscale Horizons</i> 5, (2020)<br/><b>12</b> Li, J. <i>et al.</i> <i>ChemPhysChem</i> 15, 3427–3434 (2014)<br/><b>13</b> Xu, Y. <i>et al.</i> <i>Nanomaterials</i> (2018)<br/><b>14</b> Seifert, T. <i>et al.</i> <i>Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.</i> 54, 769–779 (2015)<br/><b>15</b> Walker, R. C. <i>et al.</i> <i>Phys. Status Solidi Appl. Mater. Sci.</i> (2016)<br/><b>16</b> Kashid, R. V. <i>et al.</i> <i>Radiat. Eff. Defects Solids</i> 169, (2014)<br/><b>17</b> Cazalas, E. <i>et al.</i> <i>Appl. Phys. Lett.</i> 115, (2019)<br/><b>18</b> Isherwood, L. H. <i>et al.</i> <i>J. Phys. Chem. C</i> 125, 4211–4222 (2021)<br/><b>19</b> Felix, J. F. <i>et al.</i> <i>Nanoscale Horizons</i> 5, 259–267 (2020)