Charging/discharge events in coated spacecraft polymers during electron beam irradiation in a scanning electron microscope

Spacecraft, such as those operating in geosynchronous orbit (GEO), can be subjected to intense irradiation by charged particles, for example high-energy (e.g. 20 keV) electrons. The surfaces of dielectric materials (for example, polymers used as “thermal blankets”) can therefore become potential sit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section B, Beam interactions with materials and atoms Beam interactions with materials and atoms, 2001-12, Vol.185 (1), p.88-99
Main Authors: Czeremuszkin, G, Latrèche, M, Wertheimer, M.R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Coatings
Discharges
Electron beam
Polymers
Spacecraft
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Summary:Spacecraft, such as those operating in geosynchronous orbit (GEO), can be subjected to intense irradiation by charged particles, for example high-energy (e.g. 20 keV) electrons. The surfaces of dielectric materials (for example, polymers used as “thermal blankets”) can therefore become potential sites for damaging electrostatic discharge (ESD) pulse events. We simulate these conditions by examining small specimens of three relevant polymers (polyimide, polyester and fluoropolymer), both bare and coated, in a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The coatings examined include commercial indium-tin oxide (ITO), and thin films of SiO 2 and a-Si:H deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). All coatings are found to greatly modify the observed ESD behavior, compared with that of the bare polymer counterparts. These observations are explained in terms of the model for ESD pulses proposed by Frederickson.
ISSN:0168-583X
1872-9584
DOI:10.1016/S0168-583X(01)00836-9