Proton and Electron Pulse Shape Discrimination for In Situ Radiation Belt Monitoring

The goal of this article is to develop the necessary numerical models to study the differences of the induced current pulse shapes of protons and electrons in solid-state detectors (SSDs), all while validating these models with an experimental test bench. The shape of the captured current pulse created by the passage of the particle in the SSD is indicative of the nature of the particle, which we aim to predict using the information in the pulse shape. The performances and limits of such a system are explored here in the scope of proton/electron discrimination in Earth’s radiation belts. This provides a meaningful asset to the methods used in radiation monitors these days, which mostly rely on total energy deposited.