1. Radiation-Matter Interactions & Defect Recovery

Radiation transfers energy to semiconductors through both atomic displacement and electronic excitation. The resulting defects can degrade carrier transport, increase nonradiative recombination, alter interfaces, and eventually cause device failure. In structurally dynamic semiconductors, however, defect generation may be accompanied by migration, recombination, structural relaxation, or transformation into electronically benign configurations.

We investigate these competing processes using controlled proton, electron, and alpha-particle irradiation. Experiments performed across temperature, particle energy, dose rate, illumination, and electrical bias allow us to distinguish defect generation from concurrent recovery.

Cryogenic irradiation and subsequent controlled warming provide a particularly powerful route for separating damage creation from thermally activated defect motion. Electrical measurements, defect spectroscopy, structural characterization, and device-level testing are combined to determine when recovery can compete with, or exceed, the rate of radiation-induced degradation.

Our objective is to develop predictive relationships connecting radiation conditions, material properties, defect kinetics, and functional device performance.