Comparing a radiation damage model for avalanche photodiodes through in-situ observation of CubeSat based devices

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Lenart, Arpad and Islam, Tanvirul and Sivasankaran, Srihari and Neilson, Peter and Hidding, Bernhard and Oi, Daniel and Ling, Alexander (2025) Comparing a radiation damage model for avalanche photodiodes through in-situ observation of CubeSat based devices. Nature Communications, 8. 118. ISSN 2041-1723 (https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-025-02042-z)

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Abstract

Space-based quantum technologies are essential building blocks for global quantum networks. However, the optoelectronic components used can be susceptible to radiation damage. Predicting long-term instrument performance in the presence of radiation remains a challenging part of space missions. We present a model that accounts for differences in radiation shielding and can predict the trends for dark count rates of space-based silicon Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes (GM-APD). We find that the predicted trends are correlated with in-situ observations from GM-APDs on-board the SpooQy-1 CubeSat mission.

ORCID iDs

Lenart, Arpad, Islam, Tanvirul, Sivasankaran, Srihari, Neilson, Peter, Hidding, Bernhard ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5827-0041, Oi, Daniel ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0965-9509 and Ling, Alexander;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)