**3.2 Radiation hardness testing**

In the process of hardening components or materials for their use in the nuclear reactor especially where the nuclear flux is expected to be very high and with highenergy level photons, a procedure called radiation hardness testing is used. This procedure normally looks similar to the characterization of radiation damage as described in the previous section, however, in this case, the hardness of the material is the main objective for the test and nothing else. The material is subjected to a beam of ions to measure the response to that exposure. A certain elemental constituent is changed (either reduced in amount or increased) and then the new material is subjected to the same treatment again until the best material with the needed hardness is achieved.

Radiation hardness testing has been widely used in the spacecraft sector to ensure that materials for spacecraft can endure nuclear particle bombardment from both onboard and external sources [4]. Additional locations with radiation levels high enough to pose a risk to electronics are nuclear and high-energy physics experiments, as well as irradiation facilities in general, such as particle accelerators and nuclear reactors. Radiation hardness studies are particularly important for electronic instrumentation for patients' irradiation in cancer therapy.

It is critical to investigate a material's hardness before using it as a component in a reactor design, especially now that the reactor system is being shrunk to the point where semiconductors may be used. This is because the cost-effectiveness of such a technique cannot be compared to using a certain weak material and replacing it quickly due to its inability to withstand the reactor's specified life duration.
