A hydrogenated amorphous silicon detector for Space Weather applications
C. Grimani, Michele Fabi, Federico Sabbatini, Mattia Villani, Luca Antognini, Aishah Bashiri, Lucio Calcagnile, Anna Paola Caricato, Roberto Catalano, Deborah Chilà, G.A.P. Cirrone, T. Croci, G. Cuttone, Sylvain Dunand, L. Frontini, M. Ionica, K. Kanxheri, Matthew Large, Valentino Liberali, Maurizio de Martino, Giuseppe Maruccio, G. Mazza, M. Menichelli, Anna Grazia Monteduro, A. Morozzi, F. Moscatelli, S. Pallotta, D. Passeri, M. Pedio, Marco Petasecca, Giada Petringa, Francesca Peverini, Lorenzo Piccolo, P. Placidi, Gianluca Quarta, Silvia Rizzato, A. Stabile, C. Talamonti, Jonathan Thomet, Luca Tosti, Richard Wheadon, N. Wyrsch, N. Zema, L. Servoli
Abstract
Abstract The characteristics of a hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) detector are presented here for monitoring in space solar flares and the evolution of strong to extreme energetic proton events. The importance and the feasibility to extend the proton measurements up to hundreds of MeV is evaluated. The a-Si:H presents an excellent radiation hardness and finds application in harsh radiation environments for medical purposes, for particle beam characterization and, as we propose here, for space weather science applications. The critical flux detection limits for X rays, electrons and protons are discussed.