
All Physics Faculty Publications
Applications of Secondary Electron Energy- and Angular-Distributions to Spacecraft Charging
Available for download from link above or publisher site listed below.
Published in Proceedings of the 6th Spacecraft Charging Technology Conference
Note: publication indicates date of 2000, but Conference was actually in 1998.
Abstract
Secondary electron (SE) emission from spacecraft surfaces as a result of energetic electron bombardment is a key process in the electrical charging of spacecraft. It has been suggested that incorporating more complete knowledge of the energy- and angular-distributions of secondary electrons is necessary to fully model how SE emission and spacecraft charging are affected by re-adsorption of low energy electrons in the presence of charge-induced electrostatic fields and ambient magnetic fields in the spacecraft environment. We present data for such energy- and angular-distributions from sputtered, polycrystalline gold surfaces. The data are compared to empirical SE emission models and found to agree well. We also discuss at what level inclusion of such energy- and angular-distributions will affect models of spacecraft charging for both positive and negative surface charging.