Transient particle effects on the ISOCAM instrument on-board the Infrared Space Observatory

One of the main limitations to the sensitivity of the infrared camera ISOCA M on-board the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) comes from responsivity var iations and glitches caused by the impacts of charged particles in photodet ectors. An international glitch working group has been created in order to centralize information about these phenomena and prepare for future space e xperiments. Results about ISOCAM glitches are presented here. The predicted glitch rate has been re-evaluated and compared to in-flight measurements. The study of temporal and spatial properties of glitches has led to a class ification into 3 distinct families. These families are related to the linea r energy transfer (LET) of charged particles interacting with the detectors .