Understanding radiation damage in electronics

“The fact is that we really don’t understand how any atomic-scale defect affects the performance on an optoelectronic device,” said Norman Tolk, the lead researcher on a recent project investigating the effects of radiation damage in electronic materials. The Vanderbilt team's technique involves blasting a semiconductor surface with ultra-fast laser light to create a pressure wave moving through the material, then measuring the changes to this pressure wave as it travels through the material. This technique is uniquely successful in detecting defects in the material's electronic (rather than simply atomic) structure.  “The fact is that we really don’t understand how any atomic-scale defect affects the performance on an optoelectronic device,” said Tolk. “Techniques like the one that we have developed will give us the detailed information we need to figure this out and so help people make nanodevices that work properly.”

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