Radiation Threshold Levels For Noise Degradation Of Photodiodes

Space radiation can increase the noise of photodiodes as a result of either a sustained ionizing dose rate effect or displacement damage. Elementary, straightforward models are presented for calculating radiation threshold levels and radiation hit susceptibility. Radiation effects experiments that verify these models are discussed. Calculations for room temperature silicon p-i-n photodetectors, an avalanche photodiode, and a hypothetical cooled staring detector indicate that this damage mechanism should not be ignored for space and nuclear environments.