About

Lin Shao is an Associate Dean for Research at the Texas A&M College of Engineering and a Professor of Nuclear Engineering. He holds a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Houston, obtained in 2001, and a B.S. in Nuclear Physics and Technology from Peking University in China, earned in 1997. Shao is also an Associate Agency Director at the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station and is affiliated with the Department of Materials Science & Engineering. His research interests focus on materials science and nanotechnology, with particular emphasis on radiation effects in nuclear and electronic materials, as well as ion beam analysis. Shao has been recognized with the Senior Faculty Fellow Award from the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station. He is actively involved in advancing research in nuclear engineering and related fields, contributing to the academic and scientific community through his leadership and scholarly work.

Research topics

• Materials science
• Composite material
• Nanotechnology
• Physics
• Optoelectronics
• Chemical engineering
• Chemistry
• Condensed matter physics
• Organic chemistry
• Chemical physics
• Metallurgy
• Optics
• Crystallography

Selected publications

• Effect of liquid paraffin on modifying the pore structure of slag-based porous geopolymer microspheres and enhancing their Cd2+ removal performance

  Journal of environmental chemical engineering · 2026-01-02 · 1 citations

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  PublisherDOI

• Effects of temperature and dose rate on ion-irradiated γ-LiAlO2 pellets

  Journal of Applied Physics · 2026-04-17

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  Defect accumulation and microstructural evolution during ion irradiation at elevated temperatures are governed by competing processes of defect production, driven by the dose rate, and defect recovery, controlled by diffusion, interaction, and annihilation. This study investigates the effects of irradiation temperature and the dose rate on microstructural evolution, deuterium retention, and lithium volatilization in γ-LiAlO2 pellets subjected to sequential He+ and D+ ion irradiation. Experiments were performed to a total fluence of 3 × 1017 (He+ + D+)/cm2 at 623, 673, 723, and 773 K with an average He+ dose rate of 7.7 × 10−4 dpa/s, and to 2 × 1017 (He+ + D+)/cm2 at 773 K with dose rates of 6.8 × 10−5, 2.9 × 10−4, and 7.3 × 10−4 dpa/s. At 623 K, the microstructure was dominated by cavities and fractures with no observable precipitate formation, while small precipitates emerged at 673 K. Increasing the irradiation temperature to 723–773 K promoted the formation of larger, faceted LiAl5O8 precipitates, and surface amorphization, accompanied by pronounced lithium depletion and H–D isotopic exchange. At 773 K, medium and high dose rates produced an amorphized surface layer over a crystalline subsurface containing LiAl5O8 precipitates and blisters at the crystalline–amorphous interface, whereas low-dose-rate irradiation preserved surface crystallinity with cavities distributed in the matrix, around precipitates, and along grain boundaries. Precipitate morphology was anisotropic with limited size dependence on the dose rate. These results elucidate the coupled effects of temperature and the dose rate and demonstrate that sequential He+ and D2+ irradiation at 773 K reproduces key microstructural features and H isotope behavior observed in neutron-irradiated γ-LiAlO2 at 573 K.

  PublisherDOI

• Embrittlement in Tungsten Alloys Under Ion Irradiations Simulating Damage of Fusion Reactors

  Microscopy and Microanalysis · 2025-07-01

  articleOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A parametric study of irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking initiation of additively manufactured 316 L stainless steel by using microstructurally-graded specimen

  Journal of Nuclear Materials · 2025-08-05 · 2 citations

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• Non‐Hydrothermal In Situ Synthesis of Ultra‐High and Radiation‐Resistant NaA Zeolite Microspheres for Cs ⁺ and Sr ²⁺ Remediation

  Advanced Functional Materials · 2025-07-26 · 7 citations

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  Abstract Designing robust zeolites that integrate mechanical stability with irradiation resistance is pivotal yet challenging for nuclear wastewater treatment. Herein, a facile strategy enables binder‐free fabrication of NaA zeolite microspheres (GXU‐NaAs) for the first time via nonhydrothermal in situ synthesis using geopolymer technology with exceptional mechanical strength (compressive strength: 22.26 MPa, Vickers hardness: 395.48) without high pressure/temperature and secondary molding. The unique structure of GXU‐NaAs with cubic NaA zeolite embedded in an amorphous aluminosilicate matrix enables mechanical properties surpassing most traditional Na‐zeolites. Notably, GXU‐NaAs retains 99% of compressive strength and 99% adsorption capacity for Sr 2+ and Cs + after 500 KGy γ irradiation, outperforming conventional zeolites, which have the potential to maintain excellent stability in nuclear environments. GXU‐NaAs also exhibits excellent dynamic adsorption effect and adsorption cycling performance for Sr 2+ and Cs + with maximum adsorption capacities of 76.16 and 238.10 mg g −1 , maintaining excellent removal effect for Sr 2+ and Cs + in natural seawater. Density functional theory verifies the adsorption mechanism of Cs + and Sr 2+ on GXU‐NaAs. This work pioneers an advanced synthesis of high‐strength zeolite while providing a dual‐functional material for nuclear wastewater efficient remediation—simultaneously addressing mechanical stability and irradiation resistance in radionuclide capture challenges.

  PublisherDOI

• Near-Infrared Organic Photodetectors with Tailored Junction Thickness for Resonance-Enhanced Photoresponse and Suppressed Dark Current

  ACS Photonics · 2025-07-07 · 8 citations

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  Organic photodetectors (OPDs) based on nonfullerene acceptors (NFAs) offer a promising platform for near-infrared (NIR) detection, yet their performance beyond 1100 nm is often limited by low external quantum efficiency (EQE) due to inefficient exciton dissociation and severe nonradiative recombination in narrow-bandgap systems. In this work, we address these challenges by employing a low-dark-current NFA (QXIC-4F) and tailoring the junction thickness to induce resonance-enhanced absorption. Optical simulations guided the optimization of the active layer to 340 nm, establishing constructive resonance at 1130 nm. As a result, the device achieves an EQE of 23% under −5 V bias, nearly twice that of a nonresonant reference, while maintaining a low dark current density (Jd) of 1.8 × 10–8 A cm–2 and a noise current spectral density as low as 10–16 A Hz–1/2, yielding specific detectivities (D*) up to 1013 Jones at zero bias. The thick active layer also suppresses trap-assisted transport, preserving D* above 1011 Jones under −5 V. All devices exhibit microsecond-scale response times with −3 dB bandwidths of 90 kHz, supporting their potential for high-speed operation. Furthermore, integration onto flexible substrates enables wearable photoplethysmography (PPG) monitoring. This work presents a scalable strategy that leverages optical resonance to simultaneously enhance sensitivity and reduce noise in NIR OPDs, advancing their applicability in biomedical and low-light sensing.

  PublisherDOI

• Bias-Switchable Dual-Mode Organic Photodetectors for Spectrally Adaptive Vision and Secure Encoding

  Materials Today · 2025-10-10 · 8 citations

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• Ion irradiation and finite element analysis to assess the effect of swelling on Cr-coated cladding

  Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms · 2025-04-19 · 1 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Tailored Non‐Fullerene Acceptors for Efficient Electron Trapping and High Photomultiplication in Flexible Organic Photodetectors

  Advanced Functional Materials · 2025-04-07 · 13 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Photomultiplication‐type organic photodetectors (PM‐OPDs) are highly effective for detecting weak optical signals; however, achieving a balance between high gain, broad spectral sensitivity, fast response, and low operating voltage remains a significant challenge. In this study, a solution‐processed approach utilizing tailored non‐fullerene acceptors (NFAs) is presented to enhance electron trapping and enable efficient photomultiplication. Two NFAs, BFDO‐Eh‐4F and BPDO‐Eh‐4F, with distinct LUMO levels, are synthesized and incorporated as dopants. Devices incorporating BFDO‐Eh‐4F demonstrated an exceptional external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 2500% at a 2 V bias and a rapid response time of 420 µs, attributed to its deeper LUMO level that facilitates efficient electron trapping. Conversely, BPDO‐Eh‐4F‐based devices operated in photovoltaic (PV) mode due to weaker electron trapping arising from its shallower LUMO level, achieving low dark current and a high specific detectivity ( D *) of 4.5 × 10¹ 2 Jones. These findings elucidate the role of unbalanced charge transport between holes and electrons in enhancing PM‐OPD performance and highlight the critical influence of LUMO level offsets in optimizing electron trapping. The complementary advantages of these devices position them as promising candidates for applications in imaging, optical communication and biosensing, providing a clear pathway for the development of next‐generation OPDs with balanced performance.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Origin of sub-surface swelling peaks in ion irradiation and their mitigation through dose rate control

  Materials Today Communications · 2025-08-09 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Sub-surface swelling, occasionally observed in ion-irradiated metals, refers to a swelling peak near the surface, just beyond a void-denuded zone, and significantly shallower than the damage peak. This study shows that such swelling is an artifact of ion irradiation and should not be used to infer neutron-induced swelling behavior. This phenomenon typically occurs under low temperatures and high dose rates. Pure Fe was selected as a model system and irradiated with 5 MeV Fe²⁺ ions at three temperatures (425, 475, and 525 °C), three damage levels (50, 100, and 150 dpa), and three dose rates (6 × 10⁻³, 1.2 × 10⁻³, and 2 × 10⁻⁴ dpa/s). At 425 °C, sub-surface swelling was observed at the highest dose rate but disappeared at the lowest rate, where swelling more closely followed the displacements per atom (dpa) profile. A multiphysics model reproduced the observed shift in void nucleation from a surface peak to a deeper peak near the damage maximum as the dose rate decreased. This shift is attributed to increased defect loss to sinks relative to recombination, which reduces sensitivity to interstitial excess arising from implanted atoms and the spatial distribution differences between interstitials and vacancies. These findings provide useful best practices to enhance the credibility of ion irradiation as a rapid testing method for emulating neutron damage in reactors.

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Isotope labeling for quantitative determination of defect sink strength and fundamentals studies on defect-sink interactions

  NSF · $385k · 2017–2020

• CAREER: Radiation Response and Stability of Nanostructured Materials

  NSF · $430k · 2009–2014

• Ion Beam Linking and Ion Beam Welding of Continuously Pulled Carbon Nanotube Yarns

  NSF · $387k · 2013–2017

• Radiation Response and Defect Dynamics in Strained Si

  NSF · $296k · 2009–2012

• Collaborative Research: Ion Irradiation-Induced Nanocrystallization of Metallic Glasses and Its Effects on Their Mechanical Properties

  NSF · $190k · 2011–2016

Frequent coauthors

• Jonathan Gigax

  54 shared

• F.А. Garner

  Texas A&M University

  43 shared

• M.T. Myers

  ExxonMobil (United States)

  40 shared

• Wei‐Kan Chu

  38 shared

• M. Nastasi

  Texas A&M University

  37 shared

• D.A. Lucca

  35 shared

• Michael Martin

  33 shared

• Di Chen

  University of Houston

  32 shared

Education

• PhD, Physics

  University of Houston

  2001

Awards & honors

• Senior Faculty Fellow Award, Texas A&M Engineering Experimen…