Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) electrical components are becoming of interest for small satellite applications due to their accessibility, good performance, and low cost. We quantify the performance of Lithium Polymer (LiPo) COTS batteries under irradiation to assess their reliability. LiPo battery cells with LiCoO2 cathodes, nominal voltages of 3.7 V, and rated capacities of 6000 mAh are irradiated with a 30 MeV proton beam from the Middle East Technical University Defocusing Beamline, which delivers a maximum of 69 krad primary dose. Results show protons cause short-term damage, resulting in up to 17% faster discharge rates, which decreases after six months depending on the cell's position and primary and secondary deposited dose. Additionally, a consumption rate increase of up to 42% occurs for the cells under prolonged secondary irradiation (1.2 krad). The separating polypropylene layer undergoes thinning and discoloration mainly due to secondary particles like neutrons and gammas. Finally, the LiCoO2 cathode of two batteries show dried polymer binder, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF), build-up, both potentially caused by discharge in a radioactive environment. Damaged cells do not suffer leakage.

The Middle East Technical University Defocusing Beamline (METU-DBL) is designed to deliver protons with selectable kinetic energies between 15–30 MeV, and proton flux between 106–1010 protons/cm2/s, on a maximum 21.55 to 15.40 cm target region with a beam uniformity within ±6%, in accordance with the ESA ESCC No. 25100 specification for single event effects (SEEs) tests in the low energy range. The achieved high proton fluences, allow users to test space-grade materials; electronic circuits, ASICs, FPGAs, optical lenses, structural elements, and coating layers for LEO, GEO, and interplanetary missions. The total received dose on the Device-Under-Test (DUT) from secondary particles created during proton-material interactions at the first beam collimator and the beam dump never exceed 0.1% of the dose from primary protons. The METU-DBL is equiped with several measurement stations and services to the user teams. A secondary measurement station in a rotating drum that can hold multiple samples has been constructed next to the first collimator which provides neutrons for transmission experiments. At the target region, a robotic table is located, which provides mechanical and electrical mounting points to the samples and allows multiple samples to be tested in a row. A modular vacuum box can also be attached on the robotic table for any test that may require a vacuum environment. Power rails on the robotic table provide various outputs for the DUT. For the data acquisition, high-speed networking and a modular industrial PC are available at the target station. The design of the METU-DBL control software enables test users to integrate and optimize the data acquisition and controlling of the DUT. The beam properties at the target region are measured with the diamond, Timepix3, and fiber scintillator detectors mounted on the robotic table. With diamond and Timepix3 detectors, measurements are taken from the five different points (center and the four corners) of the test area to measure the proton flux and ensure that it is uniform across the full test area. Fiber scintillators on both axes (X and Y) scan the target area to cross-check the beam profile's uniformity. Secondary doses during the irradiation are measured by a Geiger-Müller tube sensitive to electrons and gammas above 0.1 MeV and by a neutron detector located at the entrance of the R&D room. The room cools down relatively fast after any irradiation (<1 hour). Accurate linear energy deposition rates and absorbed doses on the samples are calculated using MCNP6, FLUKA and Geant4 Monte Carlo simulations. Alanine dosimetry measurements that are calibrated against these simulations are also used to estimate the absorbed dose on the sample.

Development of a standard dosimetric facility with protection against external radiation background for the metrological support of highly sensitive radiation monitoring devices in accordance with the requirements of international standards .