Development of radiation resistant copper/copper alloys for electronic applications

The demand for higher efficiency and smaller electronics continues to grow. As such, the demand for a new generation of materials that can meet these needs also increases. Nanometals have come to the forefront in electronic applications due to ability to be printed and sintered at the required smaller dimensions. Of these metals, copper has been presented as a lower cost alternative to more expensive materials (i.e., silver and gold) and fine controlled printing of circuits has been realized. However, copper (and most metals) is susceptible to radiation damage, rendering them unusable in aerospace equipment, fighter jets, and weapon systems. In order to enhance the radiation stability of the nanoinks (N-inks) and develop radiation resistant printed materials, it was reasoned that doping copper with other metals may assist in stabilizing these materials to radiation damage. To accomplish this, nanocopper alloys were going to produced and tested for stability to radiation environments. In agreement with the face centered cubic (fcc) structure of copper, a variety of nano-fcc-metals including platinum, gold, silver, iron, cobalt, and bismuth were synthesized and used as dopants in a nanocopper ink. The syntheses, characterization, and ink formulations of the in situ and ex situ nanoalloys will be presented. Additionally, the printed traces were analyzed before and after ion irradiation to determine any impact radiation might have on these traces. The results from these studies will be presented.