We observed the accelerated tin whisker development under non-destructive gamma-ray and x-ray irradiation and determined the characteristic range of radiation doses 20-30 KGy, for which that effect becomes significant. We were able to change the radiation induced whisker growth by electrically disconnecting some parts of our experimental setup thus demonstrating the electrostatic nature of the accelerated whisker development. The observed acceleration factors make the ionizing radiation a potential non-destructive and readily implementable accelerated life testing tool.
@article{arxiv.2005.12251,
title = {Electrostatically accelerated tin whisker development under x- and gamma-rays},
author = {Osama Oudat and Vedheesha Arora and E. Ishmael Parsai and Victor G. Karpov and Diana Shvydka},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2005.12251},
year = {2020}
}