In this work it is presented a new method to calculate the equivalent dose for orbits where the
majority of damage is due to protons. The method compares the primary knock on atom distribution
and depth dependence, between irradiation of space proton distribution and laboratory irradiation
of silicon solar cells, as is obtained from simulations using SRIM code. It is show that for
obtaining right depth damage distribution for a solar cell covered by a glass in space, it is
necessary to irradiate the cell from backside with a proton energy related to glass thickness. The
new method is applied to predict the electrical degradation of a silicon solar cell in a low
altitude orbit, and is it compared with predictions of the so call JPL method.
|