Influence of the Guard Rings on the Response of SSD-Based Radiation Monitors in Space Environment: Applications to ICARE Monitors

The aim of this work is to analyze the influence of the guard rings (GRs) in solid state detectors (SSDs). Depending on the applied potential, the collection of charges can be disturbed. A study on SSDs with floating and grounded GRs is conducted. The tools needed to do so are presented (GEANT4, Sentaurus, and Garfield++). Experimental measurements have been performed on Micrometer Semiconductor Ltd., SSDs which are composed of multiple guard rings (MGRs). Finally, a first application on the Influence sur les Composants Avancés des Radiations de l’Espace (ICARE_NG2) radiation monitor is proposed with a comparison of the response functions (RFs) according to the potential applied on the GRs. Improved performances are observed when the GRs are grounded. A second application on the ICARE_NG currently embedded on Eutelsat 7C (E7C) is also proposed by using the GRs as active shielding, allowing improvements in the measurement of high-energy particles.