Calibration of the Deposited Energy in CMOS Imagers for Particle Detection on Nanosatellites

Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) CMOS sensors are increasingly used in scientific applications on nanosatellites. Applying a software-based approach and in addition to their image acquisitions tasks, these CMOS sensors can be used to detect ionizing particles to improve the fault tolerance of imaging instruments on nanosatellites without the need for additional hardware. A challenge in using COTS components for this approach is that essential radiation test data and important parameters such as the thickness of the sensitive epitaxial layer are typically not available.
With a simplified calibration approach, we determine the epitaxial layer thickness and calibrate the deposited energy sensitivity with minimal measurement time and steps and minor requirements on the test facility. A forward model for particle track length determination with an increased angle scattering of incident protons is used to handle stronger parameter uncertainties of the test setup. It is shown that the currently used CMOS sensor (HWK1910A) is a suitable candidate for a radiation monitor, based on the determined epitaxial layer thickness and the deposited energy calibration factor, in combination with the in-orbit mission data. This enables capabilities for more individual protection measures in case of unexpected radiation environments.