VP15-10 Experimental Investigation of Core-Shell Tungsten Nanoclusters for Radiation Protection
Creators: Xu Tao
Xiaohan Sun
Fengguang Liu
Bi Wang and Shouzhong Peng
Publisher: name: IEEE
Year: 2025

With the advancement of thin films and nanomaterials, it has been discovered that nanomaterials hold promising applications in radiation protection. In 2010, Bai et al. theoretically unveiled the mechanism of self-healing of radiation damage in nanomaterials [1]. In the same year, Ackland highlighted the potential of nanomaterials as a highly promising material in the realm of radiation resistance [2]. The synthesis of materials with a significant number of grain boundaries and interfaces is crucial for achieving outstanding radiation resistance. Several studies have indicated that materials with nanocrystalline structures exhibit superior radiation resistance [3]. In recent years, researchers have discovered that film layer with special structures have prospects for radiation protection[4][5]. Nanoclusters have received extensive attention within the realm of nanomaterials due to their multitude of interfaces, making them a highly promising material for radiation protection. In this paper, we first synthesized W-WOx core-shell nanoclusters using a combination of magnetron sputtering and gas aggregation methods [6][7]. The core-shell tungsten nanoclusters were characterized by a variety of devices. As illustrated in Figure 1, transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis confirms the distinct core-shell morphology of the tungsten nanoclusters. Then, we fabricated core-shell tungsten nanocluster films with a thickness of 200 nm on 50μm silicon substrates. To evaluate the radiation shielding performance, we encapsulated the nanocluster films on static random-access memory (SRAM) and assessed the number of single event upset (SEU) errors under 1.3GeV tantalum ion irradiation. As detailed in Figure 2, the results indicate that SRAM remains error-free under irradiation when it is packaged with nanocluster films, signifying that the nanocluster films can substantially mitigate the energy of radiation particles.References: [1] X. M. Bai, A. F. Voter，R. G. Hoagland, Science.,Vol.327,no.5973,p.1631-1634 (2010). [2] G. Ackland, Science.,Vol.327,no.5973,p.1587-1588(2010) [3] T.D. Shen, S. Feng, M. Tang, Appl. Phys. Lett.,Vol.90,no.26 (2007) [4] R. Laptev, A. Lomygin，D. Krotkevich, Metals.,Vol.10,no.4,p.535(2020). [5] K.K.Kadyrzhanov, D.I.Shlimas, A.L.Kozlovskiy,Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics. ,Vol.31, p.11729–11740 (2020). [6] H.Haberland,M.Karrais,Y.Thurner, Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A:Vacuum,Surfaces,and Films, Vol.10, no.5, p.3266-3271(1992). [7] Y.Qiang, Y.Thurner, H. Haberland , Surface and Coatings Technology, Vol.100,p. 27-32(1998).
With the advancement of thin films and nanomaterials, it has been discovered that nanomaterials hold promising applications in radiation protection. In 2010, Bai et al. theoretically unveiled the mechanism of self-healing of radiation damage in nanomaterials [1]. In the same year, Ackland highlighted the potential of nanomaterials as a highly promising material in the realm of radiation resistance [2]. The synthesis of materials with a significant number of grain boundaries and interfaces is crucial for achieving outstanding radiation resistance. Several studies have indicated that materials with nanocrystalline structures exhibit superior radiation resistance [3]. In recent years, researchers have discovered that film layer with special structures have prospects for radiation protection[4][5]. Nanoclusters have received extensive attention within the realm of nanomaterials due to their multitude of interfaces, making them a highly promising material for radiation protection. In this paper, we first synthesized W-WOx core-shell nanoclusters using a combination of magnetron sputtering and gas aggregation methods [6][7]. The core-shell tungsten nanoclusters were characterized by a variety of devices. As illustrated in Figure 1, transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis confirms the distinct core-shell morphology of the tungsten nanoclusters. Then, we fabricated core-shell tungsten nanocluster films with a thickness of 200 nm on 50μm silicon substrates. To evaluate the radiation shielding performance, we encapsulated the nanocluster films on static random-access memory (SRAM) and assessed the number of single event upset (SEU) errors under 1.3GeV tantalum ion irradiation. As detailed in Figure 2, the results indicate that SRAM remains error-free under irradiation when it is packaged with nanocluster films, signifying that the nanocluster films can substantially mitigate the energy of radiation particles.References: [1] X. M. Bai, A. F. Voter，R. G. Hoagland, Science.,Vol.327,no.5973,p.1631-1634 (2010). [2] G. Ackland, Science.,Vol.327,no.5973,p.1587-1588(2010) [3] T.D. Shen, S. Feng, M. Tang, Appl. Phys. Lett.,Vol.90,no.26 (2007) [4] R. Laptev, A. Lomygin，D. Krotkevich, Metals.,Vol.10,no.4,p.535(2020). [5] K.K.Kadyrzhanov, D.I.Shlimas, A.L.Kozlovskiy,Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics. ,Vol.31, p.11729–11740 (2020). [6] H.Haberland,M.Karrais,Y.Thurner, Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A:Vacuum,Surfaces,and Films, Vol.10, no.5, p.3266-3271(1992). [7] Y.Qiang, Y.Thurner, H. Haberland , Surface and Coatings Technology, Vol.100,p. 27-32(1998).