The Effect of Neutron Irradiation upon the Electrical Conductivity of Thin Vacuum-Deposited Germanium Films

Electrical conductivity data were obtained for germanium films of different thicknesses on glass substrates under exposure to a nuclear reactor environment comprising epithermal neutrons, thermal neutrons, and gamma rays. With an exposure time of 48 hours, a maximum temperature of 120°F, and a cumulative total epithermal neutron flux of 4 × 1012 n/cm2, the thinnest film showed an erratic increase of conductivity, and the thickest film a marked falling off of conductivity. It is judged that these results include a dependence of the electrical conductivity of a film upon the nature of the substrate and the substrate bond.