New Energy Electron and Proton Irradiation Effects in Semiconductor Materials for Space Applications

Nowadays, space exploration has received significant attention, and semiconductor electronic equipment in space operates in an environment irradiated by high-energy particles. MeV electrons and protons are present in the near-Earth space environment, where they are more intense, so the study was carried out in these simulated space conditions (energy, vacuum, temperature). The effects of protons with an energy of 18 MeV and picosecond pulsed electrons with an energy of 3.5 MeV on the parameters (charge carriers’ concentration and mobility, resistivity) of Si single crystals are investigated. On top of that, the introduction rate of electrically active radiation defects was studied depending on irradiation dose and it was demonstrated that the introduction rate of stable radiation defects at room temperatures could be expressed by the empiric exponential law, irrespective of the type of irradiation particle. For sequential proton and electron irradiation, it has been observed that in certain dose ranges following proton irradiation, the silicon crystals develop resistance to subsequent electron irradiation.