Radiation effects in single-walled carbon nanotube papers

Journal Article · Fri Jan 15 00:00:00 EST 2010 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3268470· OSTI ID:21476086

Cress, Cory D; Messenger, Scott R; Walters, Robert J ^[1]; Schauerman, Christopher M; Raffaelle, Ryne P ^[2]; Landi, Brian J ^[2]

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1. Electronics Science and Technology Division, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375 (United States)
2. NanoPower Research Laboratories, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York 14623 (United States)

The effects of ionizing radiation on the temperature-dependent conductivity of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) papers have been investigated in situ in a high vacuum environment. Irradiation of the SWCNT papers with 4.2 MeV alpha particles results in a steady decrease in the SWCNT paper conductivity, resulting in a 25% reduction in room temperature conductivity after a fluence of 3x10{sup 12} alpha particles/cm{sup 2}. The radiation-induced temperature-dependent conductivity modification indicates that radiation damage causes an increase in the effective activation barrier for tunneling-like conductivity and a concomitant increase in wavefunction localization of charge carriers within individual SWCNTs. The spatial defect generation within the SWCNT paper was modeled and confirms that a uniform displacement damage dose was imparted to the paper. This allows the damage coefficient (i.e., differential change in conductivity with fluence) for alpha particles, carbon ions, and protons to be compared with the corresponding nonionizing energy loss (NIEL) of the incident particle. The resulting nonlinear relationship with NIEL between these parameters is distinct from the more typical linear response observed in many bulk semiconductors and superconductors and indicates that localized radiation damage in the SWCNT papers has a greater impact than distributed damage. Although SWCNT papers behave largely as a bulk material with properties that are a convolution of the underlying SWCNT distribution, the radiation response appears to be largely dominated by degradation in the preferred one-dimensional conduction within these two-dimensionally confined nanostructures.

• OSTI ID: 21476086
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 107, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3268470; (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY
ALPHA PARTICLES
CARBON
CARBON IONS
CARRIER DENSITY
CHARGE CARRIERS
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
ENERGY LOSSES
IRRADIATION
MEV RANGE
NANOTUBES
PHYSICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS
SUPERCONDUCTORS
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
TEMPERATURE RANGE 0273-0400 K
TUNNEL EFFECT
WAVE FUNCTIONS
CHARGED PARTICLES
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
ELEMENTS
ENERGY RANGE
FUNCTIONS
IONIZING RADIATIONS
IONS
LOSSES
MATERIALS
NANOSTRUCTURES
NONMETALS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIATIONS
TEMPERATURE RANGE