Radiation stability and reliability of Cu–ZnO/P3OT hybrid heterostructures under swift heavy ion irradiations

Abstract

Hybrid heterostructures (HH's) were prepared by depositing conducting poly (3-octylthiophene) (P3OT) polymer and Cu-doped zinc oxide (Cu–ZnO) composites films onto indium-doped tin oxide (ITO) substrate using an ultra-sonication cast technique. The weight percentage (wt%) of Cu–ZnO was varied such as 3 wt% and 5 wt% for heterostructure studies. In the HH's, P3OT works as hole-transporting and an electron donor (i.e. hole acceptor) material, while the Cu–ZnO was used as an electron-transporting and hole donor (i.e. electron acceptor) material. The radiation stability and reliability of HH's was studied by performing in-situ current-voltage (I–V) measurements during swift heavy ion (SHI) irradiation by 80 MeV O6+ and 120 MeV Ag9+ ions at increasing ion fluences. Additionally, the in-situ capacitance-voltage (C–V) measurements at frequencies of 1 MHz and 5 MHz were also performed under both the ion irradiations as a function of ion fluences. It was observed that the SHI irradiation-induced secondary charged particles are mainly responsible for modifying the heterostructures properties by depositing energy in the hybrid layer, interfacial region, and ITO substrate. The modification mostly occurs in terms of irradiation-induced various types of defects at the interface of heterostructures. However, after irradiation, minor/insignificant changes in the I–V and C–V characteristics were observed reflecting the radiation stability and reliability of HH's. Therefore, this study may emerge out to be very fascinating for an in-depth understanding of the interaction processes exchanged by primary and secondary charged particles besides the possible applications in radiation harsh environment of such hybrid materials.