Liquid crystal variable retarders (LCVRs) are potential optical polarization devices in future space applications. A main constraint limiting the application of devices in space is the radiation environment. In this paper the 100 MeV proton and ⁶⁰Co γ irradiation experiments were performed on LCVRs to study their radiation hardness. The results show that phase retardance of LCVRs is only degraded marginally by γ irradiation while degraded obviously by proton irradiation. It is expected that non-ionization damage is the main factor to influence the phase retardance of LCVRs.

中文翻译：

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质子辐射对液晶可变延迟器的损伤特性

液晶可变延迟器（LCVR）是未来太空应用中潜在的光学偏振设备。限制设备在太空中应用的主要限制因素是辐射环境。本文对LCVRs进行了100 MeV质子和⁶⁰ Coγ辐照实验，以研究其辐射硬度。结果表明，LCVRs的相位延迟仅在γ辐照下略有降低，而在质子辐照下则明显降低。预期非电离损伤是影响LCVR相位延迟的主要因素。