Analysis of displacement damage mechanism and simulation proton irradiation on GaAs

GaAs is an important material for preparing power supply for space vehicles, satellites, and space systems. To study the displacement damage of GaAs material caused by protons in the space environment, in this article, the Monte Carlo software Geant4 was used to simulate the transport process of space protons in GaAs; calculate the non-ionizing energy loss (NIEL) of protons with different energies; and obtain the species, energy range, and proportion of primary knock-on atom produced by proton irradiation with different energies. The results show that with the increase in the incident proton energy, the probability of elastic collision decreases and the probability of inelastic collision increases. The main source of displacement damage changes from elastic collision to inelastic collision. The radiation damage of low energy protons is serious at the end of the range, while that of high energy protons is serious at the beginning and end of the range. With the increase in the proton energy, the number of displaced atoms increases and the NIEL changes slowly. This provides a theoretical reference for the reliable operation of spacecraft.