An Assessment of Rare Earth Aluminates as Possible Radiation Shields for Artificial Satellites in Low Earth Orbit

Abstract

Charged particles injected into dielectric material of artificial satellites may cause data flipping, command errors and charges in dielectric material properties. In this work we report the results of an evaluation of rare earth aluminates as possible radiation shields for its application in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite construction. With help of Geant4 software, we calculated the radiation dose that a target receives at a typical LEO (685 km) as a function of the shield thickness. The target used was a silicon plate, the shields used were hollow cubes of rare earth aluminate walls (YAlO 3 , LaAlO 3 , NdAlO 3 and GdAlO 3), and we also used aluminium oxide (Al 2 O 3). The radiation source was the measured fluxes of electron and proton with a spectrum corresponding to a LEO. We found that of the total radiation dose received by the target without shield is 5847 microGy/hour, of which, the electrons contribute with 94.9% and the protons with 5.1%. The rare earth aluminates are a better shield than the Al 2 O 3 to protect a target against the radiation that permeates a LEO near to equator.