The talk begins with a discussion of the physics of optoelectronic devices, including heterostructures that are important in III-V semiconductors. A brief discussion of radiation environments is included, along with methods to evaluate the effects of different proton and electron energies on damage in optoelectronics. The next section discusses displacement damage effects in detectors, light-emitting diodes, and laser diodes, noting the extreme sensitivity of some types of light-emitting diodes that has caused failure of several fielded space systems. The course also discusses optocouplers, including single-event upset from protons and heavy ions that cause those devices to be extremely sensitive to spurious pulses in typical space environments. A brief discussion of radiation effects in optical fibers and optical communication systems is also included.

Biography

Allan Johnston is a Principal Engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a federally funded research center that is managed by the California Institute of Technology for NASA. He has more than thirty years of experience in radiation effects, and has participated in the design of several space craft, including the Cassini mission to Saturn, and several Mars exploration programs at JPL. He has published more than 100 technical papers, and is a Fellow of the IEEE.