Characterization of proton-induced damage in thick, p-channel skipper-CCDs

Cervantes-Vergara, Brenda A.; Perez, Santiago E.; Chavez, Claudio; Chierchie, Fernando; Roach, Brandon; Estrada, Juan; Drlica-Wagner, Alex; Holland, Stephen

doi:10.1088/1748-0221/20/07/P07005

Characterization of proton-induced damage in thick, p-channel skipper-CCDs

Journal Article · Thu Jul 03 00:00:00 EDT 2025 · Journal of Instrumentation

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/20/07/P07005· OSTI ID:2538625

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Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
Univ. of Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Bahía Blanca (Argentina)
Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States). Kavli Inst. for Cosmological Physics (KICP)
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States); Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Here, in this work, we characterize the radiation-induced damage in two thick, p-channel skipper-CCDs irradiated unbiased and at room temperature with 217-MeV protons. We evaluate the overall performance of the sensors and demonstrate their single-electron/single-photon sensitivity after receiving a fluence on the order of 10¹⁰ protons/cm². Using the pocket-pumping technique, we quantify and characterize the proton-induced defects from displacement damage. We report an overall trap density of 0.134 traps/pixel for a displacement damage dose of 2.3 × 10⁷ MeV/g. Three main proton-induced trap species were identified, V₂, C_iO_i and V_nO_m, and their characteristic trap energies and cross sections were extracted. We found that while divacancies are the most common proton-induced defects, C_iO_i defects have a greater impact on charge integrity at typical operating temperatures because their emission-time constants are comparable or larger than typical readout times. To estimate ionization damage, we measure the characteristic output transistor curves. We found no threshold voltage shifts after irradiation. Our results highlight the potential of skipper-CCDs for applications requiring high-radiation tolerance and can be used to find the operating conditions in which effects of radiation-induced damage are mitigated.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); US Department of Energy; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22); USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP)

Grant/Contract Number:: 89243024CSC000002; AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 2538625

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2583675

Report Number(s):: FERMILAB-PUB--25-0120-PPD; oai:inspirehep.net:2893747; arXiv:2502.16350

Journal Information:: Journal of Instrumentation, Journal Name: Journal of Instrumentation Journal Issue: 07 Vol. 20; ISSN 1748-0221

Publisher:: Institute of Physics (IOP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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