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Effects of Epithermal Neutron Irradiation on the Characteristics of the Porous Silicon

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Abstract

Porous silicon (PSi) samples were irradiated in the epithermal neutron spectrum for 17 h and drastic changes were observed in its electrical, optical and morphological characteristics. The FE-SEM analysis showed that the mean pore size increases with irradiation, which could be due to the formation of atomic displacements in the silicon (Si) lattice. The electrical properties changed significantly after irradiation and showed an enhancement in the conductivity of PSi due to the 31P levels which were formed via Neutron Transmutation Doping (NTD). Simultaneously, it has been observed that the surface composition as well as the transmittance of the porous Si wafer was modified as there were enough number of unbounded Si atoms as well as the 31P levels in the lattice structure. Hence it is recommended that the detailed understanding of damage events as well as a vast knowledge on the neutron induced displacements in Si would open wide possibilities as a potential material in nuclear and materials technology.

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Data Availability

The raw/processed data required to reproduce these findings are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Mr. Nazimudeen EA, Department of Physics, Christian College, Kerala, India for the FE-SEM and XPS measurements on the pristine as well as the irradiated PSi samples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Noorul Islam University, Thuckalay, Tamil Nadu, 629180, India

    Swapna Lilly Cyriac & B. Bindhu

  2. Department of Physics, University of Calicut, Calicut University P.O, Malappuram, Kerala, 673635, India

    C. V. Midhun & M. M. Musthafa

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  1. Swapna Lilly Cyriac
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  2. B. Bindhu
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  3. C. V. Midhun
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  4. M. M. Musthafa
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All the authors have equally contributed to the design and implementation of the research, to the analysis of the results and to the writing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Swapna Lilly Cyriac or B. Bindhu.

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Cyriac, S.L., Bindhu, B., Midhun, C.V. et al. Effects of Epithermal Neutron Irradiation on the Characteristics of the Porous Silicon. Silicon 14, 7879–7887 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12633-021-01550-1

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