A passive neutron-bubble dosimeter, developed by Bubble Technology Industries, has been used for space applications. This study provides a means to characterize the response of these detectors to various particle types in support of bubble-detector measurements made on aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in Low Earth Orbit. An analysis of the radiation environment onboard the ISS in the Service Module with the OLTARIS code indicates that neutrons, protons, and lower atomic mass particles are the more abundant particles. Based on a Monte Carlo treatment with the Stopping Range of Ions in Matter (SRIM) code, the response functions of the lighter ions were determined. This assessment considered the maximum linear energy transfer of these ions at the end of their path (Bragg peak) in the detector that exceeded the minimum threshold to cause bubble nucleation. The model was benchmarked against previous heavy-ion measurements in ground-based accelerator studies. The model was able to successfully predict, for a beam oriented along the detector axis, the observed energies at which the ions penetrated and exited the detector as well as the relative scaling of the response curves. By folding in the calculated particle fluxes with both the predicted light-ion response functions, as well as using experimental responses for neutrons, protons and alpha particles measured in previous accelerator studies, the contribution of particles in space to the bubble count was evaluated. This analysis shows that for an isotropic-irradiation geometry in space, neutrons are the major contributors to the bubble count with a much smaller contribution from protons.

由 Bubble Technology Industries 开发的被动中子气泡剂量计已用于空间应用。这项研究提供了一种表征这些探测器对各种粒子类型的响应的方法，以支持在一种登上低地球轨道的国际空间站 (ISS)。对带有 OLTARIS 代码的服务舱中 ISS 上的辐射环境进行的分析表明，中子、质子和较低原子质量的粒子是更丰富的粒子。基于物质中离子停止范围 (SRIM) 代码的蒙特卡罗处理，确定了较轻离子的响应函数。该评估考虑了这些离子在检测器中路径末端（布拉格峰）的最大线性能量转移，超过了导致气泡成核的最小阈值。该模型以先前在地基加速器研究中的重离子测量为基准。该模型能够成功预测，对于沿探测器轴定向的光束，观察到的离子穿透和离开检测器的能量以及响应曲线的相对比例。通过将计算出的粒子通量与预测的轻离子响应函数折叠起来，以及使用先前加速器研究中测量的中子、质子和 α 粒子的实验响应，评估了空间中粒子对气泡计数的贡献。该分析表明，对于空间中的各向同性辐射几何结构，中子是气泡数量的主要贡献者，而质子的贡献要小得多。通过先前加速器研究中测量的质子和 α 粒子，评估了空间中粒子对气泡计数的贡献。该分析表明，对于空间中的各向同性辐射几何结构，中子是气泡数量的主要贡献者，而质子的贡献要小得多。通过先前加速器研究中测量的质子和 α 粒子，评估了空间中粒子对气泡计数的贡献。该分析表明，对于空间中的各向同性辐射几何结构，中子是气泡数量的主要贡献者，而质子的贡献要小得多。