Document Type

Conference Paper

Journal/Book Title/Conference

The 17th Spacecraft Charging Technology Conference, Palais des Papes, Avignon, France, June 17-21, 2024

Publication Date

6-2024

First Page

1

Last Page

4

Abstract

Electron yield (EY) is a material property of central importance to understanding and modeling spacecraft charging. It depends on incident energy and is unique for each material. Dynamic surface modifications and other extrinsic factors—including composition, surface morphology, contamination, oxidation, and charging— can significantly affect EY and consequently spacecraft charging. This research proposes a “patch” model to provide a simple theoretical framework to model more complex materials comprised of any number of different types of constituent materials in terms of the EY contribution of each constituent material or extrinsic factor. The “patch” model merges the unique EY curve contribution of each unique lateral “patch” material. It can also be extended to variations in depth for contamination, oxidation or coatings using established EY layer models for multilayer “patches”, based on linear energy transfer electron energy attenuation and backscatter reflections. Examples of the use of the patch model to predict the EY of complex materials in terms of EY of their constituents are presented.

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