Projecting EOL dark current distribution of proton irradiated CCDs

Space instrument programs occasionally need an estimate of how dark current distribution of a silicon CCD changes versus proton radiation exposure and temperature. The task that is the subject of this article was started by adopting a relevant gamma distribution model produced by M.S. Robbins [1] and estimating its parameters, α and β, by using data acquired by Demara [2]. The fortuitous result was that α was found to depend solely on damage displacement dose and β was found to be practically equal to the native bulk dark current of silicon. These implications were tested with information from three published articles. In comparison with the published results, the model was found to be accurate within a factor of two.