Hardness of PbS nanocrystal-based photoconductor to X-ray irradiation
Abstract
Colloidal lead sulfide (PbS) nanocrystals (NCs) are emerging as cost-effective, solutionprocessable materials for infrared (IR) detection. Their use in a space environment is conditioned by their radiation tolerance. This study investigates the intrinsic robustness of PbS NC-based photoconductive devices to high-dose X-ray irradiation (up to 1.6 Grad [PbS]), far above requirement for deep-space operation. PbS NC films exhibit gradual performance degradation without abrupt thresholds, attributed to their polycrystalline nature, which localizes defects and mitigates long-range lattice disruption. Optoelectronic measurements reveal a drop in both the dark and illuminated response, yet the signal-to-noise ratio improves due to the faster decay of dark current. Spectroscopic analyses (XPS/HAXPES) confirm that the conductivity change can be attributed to X-ray-induced oxidation, which affects both Pb and S, forming sulfate and lead hydroxide phases that propagate throughout the NC volume. This oxidation reduces the effective NC size, blue-shifting the excitonic peak. Despite this, PbS NCs exhibit exceptional radiation hardness, comparable to that of radiation-hardened CMOS devices. These findings position PbS NCs as viable candidates for space-born IR detection, especially in oxygen-free environments where oxidation is naturally limited.
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BibTeX
@article{almeida2026hardness,
title = {{Hardness of PbS nanocrystal-based photoconductor to X-ray irradiation}},
author = {Diogo Almeida and Alexandre Neyret and Clement Gureghian and Dario Mastrippolito and Adrien Khalili and Albin Colle and Marco Paye and Mariarosa Cavallo and Dipak Maity and Jiho Roh and Clémence Villefroy and Sandrine Ithurria and Debora Pierucci and Stephane Demiguel and Sebastien Massenot and Jean- Marc Belloir and Cedric Virmontois and Vincent Goiffon and Emmanuel Lhuillier},
journal = {Nanotechnology},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1088/1361-6528/aea6e2},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05760266v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Hardness of PbS nanocrystal-based photoconductor to X-ray irradiation
AU - Diogo Almeida
AU - Alexandre Neyret
AU - Clement Gureghian
AU - Dario Mastrippolito
AU - Adrien Khalili
AU - Albin Colle
AU - Marco Paye
AU - Mariarosa Cavallo
AU - Dipak Maity
AU - Jiho Roh
AU - Clémence Villefroy
AU - Sandrine Ithurria
AU - Debora Pierucci
AU - Stephane Demiguel
AU - Sebastien Massenot
AU - Jean- Marc Belloir
AU - Cedric Virmontois
AU - Vincent Goiffon
AU - Emmanuel Lhuillier
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/14
JO - Nanotechnology
DO - 10.1088/1361-6528/aea6e2
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05760266v1
AB - Colloidal lead sulfide (PbS) nanocrystals (NCs) are emerging as cost-effective, solutionprocessable materials for infrared (IR) detection. Their use in a space environment is conditioned by their radiation tolerance. This study investigates the intrinsic robustness of PbS NC-based photoconductive devices to high-dose X-ray irradiation (up to 1.6 Grad [PbS]), far above requirement for deep-space operation. PbS NC films exhibit gradual performance degradation without abrupt thresholds, attributed to their polycrystalline nature, which localizes defects and mitigates long-range lattice disruption. Optoelectronic measurements reveal a drop in both the dark and illuminated response, yet the signal-to-noise ratio improves due to the faster decay of dark current. Spectroscopic analyses (XPS/HAXPES) confirm that the conductivity change can be attributed to X-ray-induced oxidation, which affects both Pb and S, forming sulfate and lead hydroxide phases that propagate throughout the NC volume. This oxidation reduces the effective NC size, blue-shifting the excitonic peak. Despite this, PbS NCs exhibit exceptional radiation hardness, comparable to that of radiation-hardened CMOS devices. These findings position PbS NCs as viable candidates for space-born IR detection, especially in oxygen-free environments where oxidation is naturally limited.
SN - 0957-4484
SN - 1361-6528
ER -