High-energy proton irradiation effects in GaAs devices

In this paper, we compare the energy dependences (53 and 115 MeV) of proton displacement damage coefficients for p⁺n GaAs solar cells with previously reported calculations of nonionizing energy loss (NIEL). Deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) was used to generate damage coefficients from the introduction rates of defects. New damage coefficients generated from GaAs bulk LEDs light output (1-530 MeV) are also reported. The damage coefficients from these devices for proton energies E>10 MeV vary but are bounded by the total and Coulombic NIEL.