Additive Manufacturing of Multimaterial Composites for Radiation Shielding and Thermal Management

The harsh radiation environment of space induces thedegradationand malfunctioning of electronic systems. Current approaches for protectingthese microelectronic devices are generally limited to attenuatinga single type of radiation or require only selecting components thathave undergone the intensive and expensive process to be radiation-hardenedby design. Herein, we describe an alternative fabrication strategyto manufacture multimaterial radiation shielding via direct ink writingof custom tungsten and boron nitride composites. The additively manufacturedshields were shown to be capable of attenuating multiple species ofradiation by tailoring the composition and architecture of the printedcomposite materials. The shear-induced alignment during the printingprocess of the anisotropic boron nitride flakes provided a facilemethod for introducing favorable thermal management characteristicsto the shields. This generalized method offers a promising approachfor protecting commercially available microelectronic systems fromradiation damage and we anticipate this will vastly enhance the capabilitiesof future satellites and space systems.