Reduction in Diameters of Copper Nanowires Due to Low Energy Hydrogen Ions Beam Irradiation-Induced Sputtering Phenomenon

Abstract

Copper nanowires (Cu-NWs) are leading contenders to replace indium tin oxides (ITOs) based traditional transparent conducting electrodes from the market due to their high mechanical flexibility and low-cost. In this work, Kilo-electron-volt (KeV) hydrogen (H+) ions beam irradiation-induced reduction in diameters of Cu-NWs is examined through transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The reduction in diameters of Cu-NWs is found to occur via H+ ions beam irradiation-induced collision cascade of atomic displacements mechanism lead to continual reorganizing Cu atoms in individual Cu-NWs lattices. Formation of defect clusters or loss of crystal structure is not found in x-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns due to H+ ions beam irradiation. These experimental findings may potentially be applied to enhance spaces between NWs in complex Cu-NWs meshes for application as transparent conducting electrodes. Moreover, this study has also significance in exploring the possibility for application of Cu-NWs meshes based optoelectronic devices in harsh environment containing plenty of H+ ions such as for use in spacecrafts for upper space missions.