Orbital Equivalence of Terrestrial Radiation Tolerance Experiments

Abstract

High energy (>40 MeV) protons are commonly used to characterize space electronics' radiation tolerance against damage caused by energy transfer to the nuclei and electrons of semiconductor materials while in orbit. While practically useful, these experiments are unrepresentative in terms of particle type and energy spectra, which results in disproportionate amounts of displacement damage and total ionizing dose. We compare these damages to those realized by bulk semiconductors used in optoelectronics in common low, medium, and high Earth orbits by calculating the duration in orbit required to achieve equivalent nuclear and electronic energy deposition. We conduct this analysis as a function of test proton energy, material, material thickness, and shielding thickness. The ratio of nuclear to electronic orbit duration, a value which would approach unity in an ideal radiation tolerance test, is found to exceed unity in the majority of cases but approaches unity as Al shielding increases. This study provides a connection between damage produced in terrestrial accelerator-based characterizations and orbit irradiation in terms of both damage modes which can cause optoelectronic components to fail: displacement damage and total ionizing dose.

Understanding the fundamental driver of semiconductor radiation tolerance with experiment and theory

“…Ideally to assess fitness for operation in space, one would induce damage with the same particle distribution (type and energy) as the component would be subject to in the particular earth orbit anticipated. Typically, high-energy (>50 MeV) protons are used, although we have previously shown that lower energy protons provide a more representative ratio of nuclear to electronic energy deposition to that incurred by the total radiation environment in orbit [20]. This being the case, the particles used here while certainly not the same as those seen in orbit, do not do a worse job at approximating the damage done in orbit than do typical radiation tolerance characterizations.…”

Review—Opportunities in Single Event Effects in Radiation-Exposed SiC and GaN Power Electronics

“…There is also a need to revise some of the existing radiation test methods. [86][87][88][89] For heavy ion testing, one standard for the circuitry is MIL-STD-750 TM1080. This method provides a framework for standardized testing of heavy ion irradiation of power MOSFETs to establish SEB and SEGR.…”

Dark current behaviour of type-II superlattice longwave infrared photodetectors under proton irradiation

“…In the space radiative environment, there are many high energy particles (especially protons) which induce the major problem for the use of electronic components embedded in space systems [10]. The reason determining *Corresponding author at: clara.bataillon@ies.univ-montp2.fr the radiation tolerance of an electronic device remains under investigation [11].…”