PROJECT TITLE :

Proton Irradiation Effects on the Performance of III-V-Based, Unipolar Barrier Infrared Detectors

ABSTRACT:

An examination of the collective results from recent experiments quantifying the performance degradation rates of III-V-primarily based, unipolar barrier infrared detectors with varied styles and materials, cutoff wavelengths and operating conditions thanks to 63 MeV proton irradiation is presented. Empirical relationships were established between the radiation harm factors for dark current density, lateral optical assortment length, and quantum efficiency and therefore the inverse product of the detectors' cutoff wavelength and operating temperature. Fitting the dark current density injury factor's empirical relationship reflected these detectors' tendency to remain diffusion-limited during irradiation, that was previously established using Arrhenius-analysis of the post-irradiation, temperature-dependent dark current measurements on each. Collectively, the results affirmed the performance degradation stemmed from a reduction of the minority carrier recombination lifetime via generation of additional defects by proton-induced displacement harm. For comparing detector's radiation-tolerance, the results indicated that injury factors alone weren't ideal, but their empirical relationships would function heuristics in this role.