Vanadium oxide (VO_x) detectors play a crucial role in the fields of space infrared detection and imaging due to their sensitivity to infrared radiation, particularly in the Long-Wave Infrared (LWIR) range, as well as their advantages of high sensitivity, low noise, uncooled operation, and cost-effectiveness. However, performance degradation caused by space ionizing radiation, particularly the decrease in responsivity and the increase in noise levels, poses a significant threat to the imaging quality and reliability of these detectors.

This study aims to bridge the current gap in research on the space radiation effects on VO_x detectors and provide input for their radiation hardening.

Ground-based radiation simulation experiments were conducted to analyze the radiation damage to VO_x detectors. Both online and offline testing methods were employed to systematically investigate the changes in detector output under varying radiation doses. Additionally, post-irradiation annealing tests were performed to examine the specific patterns of performance degradation in VO_x detectors under space radiation environments.

The results indicate that space radiation significantly affects the output performance of VO_x detectors. When the accumulated dose reaches 31 krad(Si), the non-uniformity of the detector's blackbody temperature response and the number of dead pixels surge. At 39 krad(Si), the non-uniformity of the blackbody response escalates to 88%, the dead pixel rate climbs to 66%, and the output image becomes aberrant. Within 24 h after the irradiation test, the annealing effect of the VO_x infrared array detector is evident, with the average grayscale value of the blackbody response output closely aligning with the pre-irradiation results after 72 h of annealing, and the number of dead pixels tending towards 0 after one week of annealing.

Space radiation significantly impacts the output of VO_x detectors, with the detector's output performance declining as the radiation dose accumulates, reaching a point where the device cannot recognize objects in images at 24 krad(Si). The total ionizing dose effect at lower accumulated dose values does not constitute permanent damage, as the detector's performance can be restored through room-temperature annealing. This study provides valuable insights for the subsequent design of radiation-hardened VO_x detectors for space applications.