All Physics Faculty Publications
Measurement of Charging and Discharging of High Resistivity Materials Spacecraft Materials by Electron Beams
Paper Number : AIAA-2009-0561, 47th American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronomics Meeting on Aerospace Sciences, Orlando, FL, January, 5-8, 2009.
Abstract
New instrumentation has been developed for in situ measurements of the electron beam- induced surface voltage of high resistivity spacecraft materials in an existing ultra-high vacuum electron emission analysis chamber. Design details, calibration and characterization measurements of the system are presented, showing sensitivity to a range of surface voltages from12000 V, with resolutionsurface, using a paddle attached to a vacuum compatible stepper motor mounted within a hemispherical grid retarding field analyzer. These electrodes formed one end of a floating charge transfer probe that enabled measurements to be made by a standard electrostatic field probe external to the vacuum chamber. Surface voltage measurements were also made periodically during the electron beam charging process and as the surface discharged to a grounded substrate after exposure. Analysis of the measured curves provides information on the material electron yields and bulk resistivity.
