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DOE OSTI2022

Development, construction and tests of the Mu2e electromagnetic calorimeter mechanical structures

The “muon-to-electron conversion” (Mu2e) experiment at Fermilab will search for the charged lepton flavour violating neutrino-less coherent conversion of a muon into an electron in the field of an aluminum nucleus. The observation of this process would be the unambiguous evidence of the existence of physics beyond the standard model. Mu2e detectors comprise a straw-tracker, an electromagnetic calorimeter and an external veto for cosmic rays. In particular, the calorimeter provides excellent electron identification, a fast calorimetric online trigger, and complementary information to aid pattern recognition and track reconstruction. The detector has been designed as a state-of-the-art crystal calorimeter and employs 1348 pure Cesium Iodide (CsI) crystals readout by UV-extended silicon photosensors and fast front-end and digitization electronics. A design consisting of two identical annular matrices (named “disks”) positioned at the relative distance of 70 cm downstream the aluminum target along the muon beamline satisfies the Mu2e physics requirements. The hostile Mu2e operational conditions, in terms of radiation levels (total expected ionizing dose of 12 krad and a neutron fluence of 5 × 10$^{10}$ n/cm$^{2}$ @ 1 MeV$_{eq}$ (Si)/y), magnetic field intensity (1 T) and vacuum level (10$^{-4}$ Torr) have posed tight constraints on scintillating materials, sensors, electronics and on the design of the detector mechanical structures and material choice. The support structure of each 674 crystal matrix is composed of an aluminum hollow ring and parts made of open-cell vacuum-compatible carbon fiber. The photosensors and front-end electronics for the readout of each crystal are inserted in a machined copper holder and make a unique mechanical unit. The resulting 674 mechanical units are supported by a machined plate of vacuum-compatible plastic material. The plate also integrates the cooling system made of a network of copper lines flowing a low temperature radiation-hard fluid and placed in thermal contact with the copper holders to constitute a low resistance thermal bridge. The data acquisition electronics are hosted in aluminum custom crates positioned on the external lateral surface of the disks. The crates also integrate the electronics cooling system as lines running in parallel to the front-end system. In this paper we report on the calorimeter mechanical structure design, the mechanical and thermal simulations that have determined the design technological choices, and the status of component production, quality assurance tests and plans for assembly at Fermilab.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2025

Light-powered end-to-end neutron detection and imaging with an edge-deployed optical AI chip

Neutron detection is widely used in many applications including nuclear physics, nuclear energy, nuclear technologies and nuclear safeguards. Developing an end-to-end neutron detection and imaging workflow paves way towards fully automated processes for many applications. We implemented an automated workflow for neutron detection experiments which use a solid state image sensor to capture neutron hits as a digital image. We deploy the workflow to an edge-based optical neural network (ONN) to increase the radiation-hardness and lifetime of neutron detection instruments. We present a two-stage neural network framework for detection of neutrons at sub-pixel resolution. The first stage uses a region proposal network to efficiently detect and extract neutron hits from the input camera image. The second stage feeds the extracted hits into a fully connected neural network to predict the sub-pixel hit position. The performance of the two-stage framework is evaluated using the edge-based ONN. The results show that we can achieve above 96% neutron detection accuracy as well as sub-pixel and sub-micron position resolution, while enjoying the advantages of the ONN hardware including radiation-hardness, low energy consumption and high computing speed for integrated edge camera and hardware deployment, when compared with electronic counterparts.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2023

Effects of Proton Irradiation on GaN Vacuum Electron Nanodiodes

Gallium nitride (GaN)-based nanoscale vacuum electron devices, which offer advantages of both traditional vacuum tube operation and modern solid-state technology, are attractive for radiation-hard applications due to the inherent radiation hardness of vacuum electron devices and the high radiation tolerance of GaN. Here, we investigate the radiation hardness of top-down fabricated n-GaN nanoscale vacuum electron diodes (NVEDs) irradiated with 2.5-MeV protons (p) at various doses. We observe a slight decrease in forward current and a slight increase in reverse leakage current as a function of cumulative protons fluence due to a dopant compensation effect. The NVEDs overall show excellent radiation hardness with no major change in electrical characteristics up to a cumulative fluence of 5E14 p/cm 2 , which is significantly higher than the existing state-of-the-art radiation-hardened devices to our knowledge. In conclusion, the results show promise for a new class of GaN-based nanoscale vacuum electron devices for use in harsh radiation environments and space applications.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2024

Measuring 3D Chemistry at 1 nm Resolution with Fused Multi-Modal Electron Tomography

Measuring the three-dimensional (3D) distribution of chemistry in nanoscale matter is a longstanding challenge for metrological science. The inelastic scattering events required for 3D chemical imaging are too rare, requiring high beam exposure that destroys the specimen before an experiment is completed. Even larger doses are required to achieve high resolution. Thus, chemical mapping in 3D has been unachievable except at lower resolution with the most radiation-hard materials. Here, high-resolution 3D chemical imaging is achieved near or below one-nanometer resolution in an Au-Fe3O4 metamaterial within an organic ligand matrix, Co3O4-Mn3O4 core-shell nanocrystals, and ZnS-Cu0.64S0.36 nanomaterial using fused multi-modal electron tomography. Multi-modal data fusion enables high-resolution chemical tomography often with 99% less dose by linking information encoded within both elastic (HAADF) and inelastic (EDX/EELS) signals. We thus demonstrate that sub-nanometer 3D resolution of chemistry is measurable for a broad class of geometrically and compositionally complex materials.

Schwartz, Jonathan↗

DOE OSTI2024

Imaging 3D chemistry at 1 nm resolution with fused multi-modal electron tomography

Measuring the three-dimensional (3D) distribution of chemistry in nanoscale matter is a longstanding challenge for metrological science. The inelastic scattering events required for 3D chemical imaging are too rare, requiring high beam exposure that destroys the specimen before an experiment is completed. Even larger doses are required to achieve high resolution. Thus, chemical mapping in 3D has been unachievable except at lower resolution with the most radiation-hard materials. Here, high-resolution 3D chemical imaging is achieved near or below one-nanometer resolution in an Au-Fe 3 O 4 metamaterial within an organic ligand matrix, Co 3 O 4 -Mn 3 O 4 core-shell nanocrystals, and ZnS-Cu 0.64 S 0.36 nanomaterial using fused multi-modal electron tomography. Multi-modal data fusion enables high-resolution chemical tomography often with 99% less dose by linking information encoded within both elastic (HAADF) and inelastic (EDX/EELS) signals. We thus demonstrate that sub-nanometer 3D resolution of chemistry is measurable for a broad class of geometrically and compositionally complex materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2021

Developing Low Noise, Rad-hard Detectors for Parity Violating Experiments

As parity-violating electron scattering (PVeS) experiments continue to push the frontiers of precision electro-weak asymmetry measurements, the demands on the experimental techniques and apparatus are also pushed. In particular, the need for higher resolution and radiation-hardness of the main integrating detectors has increased over the successive generations of PVeS experiments. The demand for precise measurement of GHz event rates has pushed the field toward the use of thin quartz Cerenkov light based detectors. We have been designing and testing such thin quartz detectors specifically for the upcoming experiments at Jefferson Lab, PREX-II and CREX, but this work also greatly influences the detector development for several future experiments including MOLLER at Jefferson Lab. These are all PVeS experiments that will use the new thin quartz Cerenkov detector design concept for their main asymmetry measurements (as well as for beam monitoring). The new design concept gives not only significant performance improvements compared to its predecessor from PREX-I, but also we have now thoroughly characterized its operational design and performance using a combination of test-beam data and detailed particle and optical Monte Carlo Geant4 simulations. These activities have culminated in the development and implementation of a "bench-marked" Monte Carlo package, QSIM, which constitutes a powerful design tool for present and future PVeS quartz detectors. The benchmarked simulation can replicate real photoelectron distributions (RMS and Mean) from testbeam data with ~5% precision – limited mainly by the systematic uncertainty of the PMT gain measurements.

Villarreal, Carlos Bula Villarreal↗

DOE OSTI2023

Electronics for the far-forward CMS muon detector upgrade, ME0

Abstract With the High Luminosity upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) we expect increased instantaneous luminosities up to 7.5 × 10 34 cm −2 s −1 , or five times more than the original values. In order to maintain performance of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment under these conditions, ME0 is one of three new muon sub-detectors being added, along with GE1/1 and GE2/1, which use the triple Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM) technology. ME0 is designed to cover the forward region of 2.0 < | η | < 2.8, thus improving muon reconstruction at high background rates by supplementing other overlapping muon subsystems up to | η | = 2.4, while also extending the acceptance for the first time to | η | = 2.8. The readout electronics for ME0 must be designed to accommodate high data rates and be sufficiently radiation hard to operate close to the beamline. The Optohybrid (OH) board for ME0, which reads out data from the front-end VFAT3b ASICs, has therefore been designed to operate without an FPGA (unlike GE1/1 and GE2/1) to ensure radiation hardness. The ME0 OH uses the radiation-hard CERN-designed lpGBT ASIC and VTRx+ optical transceiver module for high bandwidth optical links up to 10.24 Gb/s. The backend system is based on the ATCA standard. The design and development status of the readout electronics for ME0 is presented, along with recent results from integration tests performed using the first prototypes.

Instruments & Instrumentation↗

DOE OSTI2023

Improved noise performance from the next-generation buried-channel p-MOSFET SiSeROs

The Single electron Sensitive Read Out (SiSeRO) is a novel on-chip charge detector output stage for charge-coupled device (CCD) image sensors. Developed at MIT Lincoln Laboratory, this technology uses a p-MOSFET transistor with a depleted internal gate beneath the transistor channel. The transistor source-drain current is modulated by the transfer of charge into the internal gate. At Stanford, we have developed a readout module based on the drain current of the on-chip transistor to characterize the device. In our earlier work, we characterized a number of first prototype SiSeROs with the MOSFET transistor channels at the surface layer. An equivalent noise charge (ENC) of around 15 electrons root mean square (RMS) was obtained. In this work, we examine the first buried-channel SiSeRO. Here we have achieved substantially improved noise performance of around 4.5 electrons root mean square (RMS) and a full width half maximum (FWHM) energy resolution of 132 eV at 5.9 keV, for a readout speed of 625 kpixel/s. We also discuss how digital filtering techniques can be used to further improve the SiSeRO noise performance. Additional measurements and device simulations will be essential to further mature the SiSeRO technology. This new device class presents an exciting new technology for the next-generation astronomical X-ray telescopes requiring fast, low-noise, radiation-hard megapixel imagers with moderate spectroscopic resolution.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2023

SRF Thin Films: Not just for Cavities

Recent years have seen renewed interest and activities in developing SRF cavity materials based on thin film technologies. In this framework, considerable progress has been achieved in the development of high quality films and layered structures along with associated deposition techniques such as ECR, HiPIMS, and ALD. Beyond cavity applications, the developments in SRF thin film technologies find a variety of applications in the fields of superconducting metamaterials, electronics, sensors and quantum devices. High quality Nb films with high RRR open the way for enhanced coherence times for quantum qbits. Other SRF thin films such as NbTiN are developed for superconducting backend processes for future generations of computing hardware and radiation-hard sensors for nuclear and high-energy physics. The unifying theme across these technologies is that the same physics and material properties such as extreme low loss, stability, and manufacturability are required. This talk will present an overview of the emerging applications of SRF films and structures beyond accelerator cavities.

Valente-Feliciano, A.-M.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Crystal Calorimetry for Charged Lepton Flavor Violation Searches

The Mu2e experiment at Fermilab aims to search for Charged Lepton Flavor Violation (CLFV) through the coherent conversion of a muon into an electron in the field of an aluminum nucleus. This process, highly suppressed in the Standard Model, would clearly indicate new physics if observed. A crucial component of Mu2e is its electromagnetic calorimeter, which enhances the identification and measurement of conversion electrons. The calorimeter consists of two disks of undoped CsI crystals read out by custom-designed SiPMs and fast front-end electronics. This paper presents an overview of the calorimeter’s design, its custom SiPM technology, the readout and data acquisition system, and the results from commissioning tests.Building on the experience from Mu2e, the proposed Mu2e-II upgrade aims to enhance further the experiment’s sensitivity by an order of magnitude. This requires significant advancements in calorimeter technology, particularly in crystal materials and photodetector performance. Studies on BaF$_2$ and LYSO crystals, as well as the development of radiation-hard Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs), are currently underway. Test beam results demonstrate promising improvements in energy resolution and timing capabilities, ensuring the feasibility of next-generation calorimetry solutions for Mu2e-II.

Atanov, N. [Dubna, JINR]↗

DOE OSTI2025

The CMS Phase-2 Fast Beam Condition Monitor prototype test with beam

The Fast Beam Condition Monitor (FBCM) is a standalone luminometer for the High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC) program of the CMS Experiment at CERN. The detector is under development and features a new, radiation-hard, front-end application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) designed for beam monitoring applications. The achieved timing resolution of a few nanoseconds enables the measurement of both the luminosity and the beam-induced background. The ASIC, called FBCM23, features six channels with adjustable shaping times, enabling in-field fine-tuning. Each ASIC channel outputs a single binary asynchronous signal encoding time-of-arrival and time-over-threshold information. The FBCM is based on silicon-pad sensors, with two sensor designs presently being considered. This paper presents the results of tests of the FBCM detector prototype using both types of silicon sensors with hadron, muon, and electron beams. Irradiated FBCM23 ASICs and silicon-pad sensors were also tested to simulate the expected conditions near the end of the detector's lifetime in the HL-LHC radiation environment. Based on test results, direct bonding between the sensor and ASIC was chosen, and an optimal bias voltage and ASIC threshold for FBCM operation were proposed. The current design of the front-end test board was validated following the beam test and is now being used for the first front-end module, which is expected to be produced in summer 2025. These results represent a major step forward in validating the FBCM concept, first version of the firmware and establishing a reliable design path for the final detector.

Beam-line instrumentation (beam position and profi↗

DOE OSTI2026

Development of Advanced, Radiation Resistant, Optical-based Detector Technology for Future Experiments.

The primary objective of this project has been to advance the design of high-performance electromagnetic (EM) calorimeters for future particle physics experiments, to identify and measure the timing, position and energy of electrons, positrons and gamma rays, particularly in high-luminosity environments with intense radiation and pileup conditions. To meet such challenges, the proposed research has focused on the development of ultra-compact, radiation-hard calorimeter modules, to provide excellent timing, spatial, and energy resolution. The work aligns with the DOE’s Basic Research Needs (BRN) for High Energy Physics (HEP) Instrumentation and the research team contributes actively to the Coordinating Panel on Advanced Detectors (CPAD) RDC9 calorimetry collaboration in the USA and the European Committee on Future Accelerators (ECFA) DRD-CALO calorimetry collaboration at CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics located in Geneva, Switzerland. The research builds on the RADiCAL (radiation-hard, ultra-compact) modular sampling calorimeter approach, developed by the research team, which employs dense and very bright optical materials such as LYSO:Ce scintillator plates that are interleaved with very dense tungsten plates to minimize detector size while optimizing performance. The modules are comparable in size to a human index finger, dimensionally 14 mm x 14 mm in cross section and 135 mm in length. And despite the small size, the structure is capable of providing excellent timing and energy resolution. This is facilitated through the use of specialized quartz capillaries filled with wavelength-shifting filaments, positioned at various depths along the length of a module, to collect and guide light signals to silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) which detect and convert the optical signals to electronic signals for analysis. The primary goals of this project have been: (1) Achieve a timing resolution to σ t ≤ 30 ps for high-energy electrons and photons, important for their association with specific events produced in colliding-beam experiments and for the detection of decays-in-flight of long-lived particles. The project has achieved this goal in beam tests of a single RADiCAL module at CERN, during which a timing resolution of σ t = 27 ps was measured for electrons of energy E = 150 GeV. Based upon a mathematical fit to the data measured over a broad energy range from low energy to high energy, a resolution of σ t ≤ 18 ps has been estimated for electrons of very high (TeV) energy. From these measurements and with further expected technical improvements, the timing resolution should reach σ t ≤ 10 ps, important for searches for discovery physics in upcoming and future experiments. (2) Achieve an energy resolution of σ E / E ≤ 10% / $\sqrt{E}$. The project has yet to achieve this goal, but is close to it, having measured a value of σ E / E ≤ 15.9% / $\sqrt{E}$ using a modular array. Ultimately, the resolution goal is expected to be reached by adjustments to material thicknesses within the modules, which will improve the sampling fraction to measure more precisely the shower energy for lower energy particles. The versatility of the modular RADiCAL approach enables the testing of advanced materials, photosensors and electronics, developed in collaboration with CPAD RDC and ECFA DRD-CALO groups. The structure can distinguish electrons, positrons and gamma rays from hadrons and muons and beam-induced backgrounds, making it a valuable tool in a variety of detector environments, including future circular colliders (FCC-ee, FCC-hh) proposed for the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), the muon-collider proposed for Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), and searches for new physics in beam-dump, fixed target and forward-physics experiments. And, while designed with particle physics applications in mind, the technologies developed in this project have the potential for application more broadly in particle and nuclear physics, materials science, and medical physics, underscoring the far-reaching potential of this line of instrumentation research and development.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2025

Upgrades of the ATLAS zero degree calorimeter system for Run 3 at the Large Hadron Collider

Experimental studies of ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) depend crucially on Zero Degree Calorimeters (ZDCs) that measure neutrons produced at near-beam rapidity in nucleus-nucleus collisions. In hadronic nuclear collisions these neutrons are mainly spectator neutrons, those that do not scatter from opposing nucleons during the collision. As a result, the ZDCs provide a vital probe of heavy ion collision geometry. The ZDCs are also essential in the study of ultra-peripheral collisions that are initiated by photons associated with the electric fields of one or both nuclei. Coherent photon emission typically leaves the photon emitter intact, making the observation of no ZDC signal, on one or both sides, a tag of such processes. The ATLAS ZDCs, built prior to Run 1, were substantially upgraded for LHC Run 3. The primary upgrades included replacement of the quartz Cherenkov radiator with H_2-doped fused silica rods; installation of fast air-core signal cables between the ZDC and the ATLAS USA15 cavern; a new LED-based calibration system; and new electronics implemented for readout and fully-digital triggering. The ZDCs were also augmented with new “Reaction Plane Detectors” (RPDs) designed to measure the transverse centroid of multi-neutron showers to allow event-by-event reconstruction of the directed-flow plane in nuclear collisions. The Run 3 ZDC detectors, including the RPDs, are described in detail with emphasis on aspects that are new for Run 3.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Performance of the CMS High Granularity Calorimeter prototype to charged pion beams of 20–300 GeV/c

The upgrade of the CMS experiment for the high luminosity operation of the LHC comprises the replacement of the current endcap calorimeter by a high granularity sampling calorimeter (HGCAL). The electromagnetic section of the HGCAL is based on silicon sensors interspersed between lead and copper (or copper tungsten) absorbers. The hadronic section uses layers of stainless steel as an absorbing medium and silicon sensors as an active medium in the regions of high radiation exposure, and scintillator tiles directly read out by silicon photomultipliers in the remaining regions. As part of the development of the detector and its readout electronic components, a section of a silicon-based HGCAL prototype detector along with a section of the CALICE AHCAL prototype was exposed to muons, electrons and charged pions in beam test experiments at the H2 beamline at the CERN SPS in October 2018. The AHCAL uses the same technology as foreseen for the HGCAL but with much finer longitudinal segmentation. The performance of the calorimeters in terms of energy response and resolution, longitudinal and transverse shower profiles is studied using negatively charged pions, and is compared to GEANT4 predictions. This is the first report summarizing results of hadronic showers measured by the HGCAL prototype using beam test data.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2022

Countdown to perovskite space launch: Guidelines to performing relevant radiation-hardness experiments

Perovskite photovoltaics (PVs) are under intensive development for promise in terrestrial energy production. Soon, the community will find out how much of that promise may become reality. Perovskites also open new opportunities for lower cost space power. However, radiation tolerance of space environments requires appropriate analysis of relevant devices irradiated under representative radiation conditions. We present guidelines designed to rigorously test the radiation tolerance of perovskite PVs. We review radiation conditions in common orbits, calculate nonionizing and ionizing energy losses (NIEL and IEL) for perovskites, and prioritize proton radiation for effective nuclear interactions. Low-energy protons (0.05-0.15 MeV) create a representative uniform damage profile, whereas higher energy protons (commonly used in ground-based evaluation) require significantly higher fluence to accumulate the equivalent displacement damage dose due to lower scattering probability. Furthermore, high-energy protons may "heal" devices through increased electronic ionization. These procedural guidelines differ from those used to test conventional semiconductors.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2021

Radiation Effects in III-V Solar Cells Grown by Dynamic Hydride Vapor Phase Epitaxy

The recent development of hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) is potentially promising as a route to lower the cost of high-efficiency III-V solar cells for space applications. HVPE produces the same materials and device structures as the industry-standard organometallic vapor phase epitaxy (OMVPE) process, and although HVPE has shown promising device efficiencies, it lags the OMVPE growth technique in technical maturity. For example, there are no reports of the performance of HVPE-grown devices in radiation environments. There is an expectation that high-quality (that is, single crystal and low-defect) III-V materials will behave similarly regardless of the growth method. However, it is important to verify assumptions as facts. In this project, we produced materials and devices using both HVPE and OMVPE at NREL and irradiated them using 1 MeV electrons to ascertain the effect of radiation on the materials. We also performed initial work on producing more radiation-hard structures, including devices with the pn junction at the front of the device, and devices with a graded doping profile, both of which help with radiation tolerance. Measurements of the devices post radiation exposure showed that the open-circuit voltage (V OC ) of the HVPE-grown solar cells degraded least on a percent basis, although they also started from a lower baseline than the OMVPE-grown devices. All solar cells reached approximately the same V OC after irradiation, indicating that the dose used was sufficient to degrade all device equally. The short-circuit current in the HVPE devices did degrade more than the other solar cells, and this was attributed to a higher-than-expected doping density in the base layer of that cell. The results of these experiments, while by no means comprehensive, do not show any material difference in the radiation effects in OMVPE- and HVPE-grown materials and devices.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2024

Lead tungstate calorimeters at Jefferson Lab and perspectives for the Electron–Ion Collider

Electromagnetic calorimeters based on PbWO4 scintillating crystals have a widespread applica- tion in experiments at different accelerator facilities such as CERN, FNAL, GSI, and Jefferson Lab. The unique properties of PbWO4 crystals, including a small radiation length and Molire radius, make them ideal for building high-granularity, radiation-hard detectors. This enables excellent spa- tial separation and energy resolution of reconstructed electromagnetic showers, making PbWO4 crystals the material of choice for numerous experiments. Lead tungstate calorimeters have been successfully used in several experiments at Jefferson Lab. Two large-scale detectors have been re- cently fabricated for future experiments : the Neutral Particle Spectrometer and the lead tungstate calorimeter of the GlueX detector. The future application of PbWO4 crystals in the ElectronIon Collider further highlights their ongoing importance in advancing experimental capabilities. In planning new experiments, the development of calorimeter instrumentation technologies becomes paramount. The integration of modern photodetectors, such as Silicon photomultipliers that are capable of operating in strong magnetic fields, and the implementation of streaming readout data acquisition systems, sophisticated shower reconstruction algorithms, and real-time data analysis are some examples of the continuously growing requirements of experimental setups. I will give an overview of the lead tungstate scintillating calorimeters and discuss some recent advancement in the calorimeter instrumentation.

Somov, Alexander↗

DOE OSTI2026

In situ cryogenic characterization of proton damage in thick p-channel skipper CCDs

Skipper charge-coupled devices (CCDs) are an offshoot of standard silicon pixel detectors and are capable of performing repeated non-destructive charge measurements, enabling deeply sub-electron readout noise. This capability has opened the door to single-photon counting from the near-infrared ($\sim$1.1 $μ$m) to the soft X-ray (several keV), making these devices strong candidates for future astronomical instruments operating in the photon-starved limit. Furthermore, the p-channel architecture used to fabricate Skipper CCDs on n-type silicon has been demonstrated to have an increased hardness to the intense radiation environment of space. Building upon previous irradiation campaigns on room-temperature sensors, here we describe the first radiation-hardness tests of p-channel skipper CCDs at their cryogenic operating temperatures. We assess the performance of the floating-gate output stage and global CCD parameters (charge transfer inefficiency, dark current, hot pixels, and charge traps). We find that these devices maintain excellent performance after displacement damage doses equivalent to ${\sim}$10 years at the Earth/Sun L2 Lagrange point, demonstrating for the first time that these sensors remain radiation-hard in realistic deep-space thermal and radiation environments.