Radiation for electronics is more dangerous than thought. Free Technical Library News

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Radiation for electronics is more dangerous than thought

04.08.2012

Radiation can cause ten times more damage to electronic devices than previously thought. This result was obtained using a new research method that uses a combination of lasers and acoustic waves.

The study of the effect of radiation on the structure of materials used in electronics has recently acquired particular importance. Since in extreme situations, such as accidents at nuclear power plants, rescuers and repairmen use robotic devices to penetrate the contaminated area. Failure of such a device due to underestimated exposure to radiation during a mission can lead to extremely negative consequences. Radiation damages materials at the atomic level. A modern transistor contains millions of atoms and therefore can survive a lot of damage before it breaks. However, the size of microelectronic devices continues to shrink, and if a transistor consists of only a few thousand atoms, then even a small defect can render it unusable.

The old methods of studying damage in electronic materials are limited only to the detection of large deformations of the atomic lattice. The new method allows for the first time to detect irregularities in the position of electrons that are attached to atoms.

To detect such disturbances, scientists Andrew Steigerwald and Normann Tolk used advanced coherent acoustic phonon spectroscopy (CAPS) technology. The essence of the new methodology is as follows. “Let’s imagine,” Steigerwald says, “that a person is swimming in a pool. Here, a person is an atom, and water is electrons. When another person (in our case, playing the role of a high-energy particle) jumps into the pool, the first one moves a little, making room for him. These small changes in location are difficult to measure, so current technologies cannot detect them." However, scientists have found another way: the detection of acoustic waves that diverge to the sides at the moment of impact, are reflected back to the surface and allow you to detect hidden defects.

The new technology has already brought surprises. Physicists tested it on gallium arsenide, which is widely used in the electronics industry. The semiconductor was bombarded with neon atoms, and structural damage was found to have spread over a volume containing 1 atoms. This is significantly more than studies using other methods have shown.

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The entire cycle of DNA work is tracked 30.08.2012

Researchers at the University of Texas have developed technology to track the entire cycle of DNA.

Scientists have used fluorescent molecules to label DNA and control a process called DNA cycling. This natural biological process "rearranges" the genetic material in certain cell types. The new method not only sheds light on how DNA works, but could also help develop drugs to effectively fight certain DNA-manipulating viruses, such as HIV. Until now, scientists have mostly been able to take "snapshots" of the initial and final stages of DNA cycle formation. About what happens in the middle of the cycle, it was possible to learn only fragmentarily.

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The new technology is useful not only for fundamental biology and genetics, but also for creating more effective methods for finding new drugs to fight HIV and other dangerous viruses and bacteria.

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