GaAs LED based NIEL spectrometer for the space radiation environment

A NIEL (Non-Ionizing-Energy-Loss) spectrometer experimental tray was fabricated with the intent that it would be flown on the MIR space station. Since the flight was subsequently cancelled, the tray was tested in a laboratory environment at the Universite de Montreal. While conventional TLDs are used to measure the dose due to ionization, GaAs and SiC LEDs are employed to measure NIEL, i.e. the non-ionizing component of the energy loss. The design criteria and testing of the GaAs LEDs as NIEL monitors are described.