Measurement of 5-eV atomic oxygen using carbon based films: preliminary results

White, Ciara; Roberts, G.T.; Chambers, A.R.

doi:10.1109/jsen.2005.858973

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…On the back of the alumina substrate a ruthenium oxide heater element, similar to that employed with the previous carbon and zinc oxide AO sensors [5], [9] was also screen-printed. This was subsequently used to control the sensor temperature during testing and also for regeneration heating.…”

Section: Thick Film Zinc Oxide Sensor Constructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many different types of sensor have been developed to measure the AO flux or fluence [3]; such sensors must be capable of operating under the high vacuum conditions prevalent in LEO and, ideally, at temperatures that typically might range from -50˚C to + 125˚C, although in practice some form of thermal control (active or passive) is usually employed to limit the operational temperatures to a much smaller range. Amongst these are sensors fabricated from thin films of silver [4] and carbon [5] which increase in resistance during exposure to AO; however for these sensors the resistance change is irreversible and thus they exhibit limited lifetime. Sensors fabricated from metal oxide semiconductors such as zinc oxide (ZnO) have also been developed to detect and measure atomic oxygen, as well as other planetary atmospheric species [6]- [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Development of a Reusable Atomic Oxygen Sensor Using Zinc Oxide Thick Films

et al. 2013

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1 The paper describes the fabrication and testing of thick film zinc oxide sensors that could be used to monitor the atomic oxygen fluence experienced by spacecraft in low Earth orbit, or that produced in ground-based atomic oxygen sources. Impedance spectroscopy measurements were carried out on the sensors to determine the conduction mechanisms within the thick films when exposed to atomic oxygen. The results indicate that the sensors' total resistance increases linearly with time when they are exposed to a constant flux of atomic oxygen, and that the sensors can be regenerated by heating.Index Terms-Atomic Oxygen, Space Environment, Thick film sensors, Zinc Oxide. I. INTRODUCTIONAtomic oxygen (AO) is the main atmospheric constituent in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) at altitudes between 200-1000 km. Atomic oxygen is formed by the photo-dissociation of molecular oxygen by solar ultra-violet (UV) radiation [1]; at these altitudes the probability of recombination is low due to the low atmospheric density and hence the AO is a stable species. Despite its low density it is well known [2] that AO causes high levels of damage over time to many spacecraft materials, particularly those located on forward-facing (ram direction) surfaces. For example, silver electrical contacts are readily oxidised and become non-conducting whilst polymer thermal protection blankets may be eroded, causing their optical properties (emissivity and absorptivity) to change and thus affecting their performance. In both cases the damage processes are enhanced by the high collision energy (approx. 5 eV) of the AO. The AO flux (usually expressed as atoms cm -2 s -1 ) is highly variable, depending primarily on altitude and level of solar activity [1].As an example, for the International Space Station (ISS), residing in a roughly 330 km circular orbit, a typical AO flux J.C. Valer was a doctoral student at the University of Southampton. His contact details are:1 Rowleys Mill,

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Section: Thick Film Zinc Oxide Sensor Constructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a Reusable Atomic Oxygen Sensor Using Zinc Oxide Thick Films

et al. 2013

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In situ measurement of atomic oxygen flux using a silver film sensor onboard “TianTuo 1” nanosatellite

Cheng

Chen

Sheng

2016

Advances in Space Research

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Implementation of a Cryogenic Facility for Space Debris Analysis

et al. 2021

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This paper has resulted from a continued study of spacecraft material degradation and space debris formation. The design and implementation of a thermal vacuum cycling cryogenic facility for the evaluation of space debris generation at a low Earth orbit (LEO) is presented. The facility used for spacecraft external material evaluation is described, and some of the obtained results are presented. The infrastructure was developed in the framework of a study for the European Space Agency (ESA). The main purpose of the cryogenic facility is to simulate the LEO spacecraft environment, namely thermal cycling and vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) irradiation to simulate the spacecraft material degradation and the generation of space debris. In a previous work, some results under LEO test conditions showed the effectiveness of the cryogenic facility for material evaluation, namely: the degradation of satellite paints with a change in their thermo-optical properties, leading to the emission of cover flakes; the degradation of the pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) used to glue Velcro’s to the spacecraft, and to glue multilayer insulation (MLI) to the spacecraft’s. The paint flakes generated are space debris. Hence, in a scenario of space missions where a spacecraft has lost the thermal shielding capability, the failure of PSA tape and the loss of Velcro properties may contribute to the release of the full MLI blanket, contributing to the generation of space debris that presents a growing threat to space missions in the main Earth orbits.

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Measurement of 5-eV atomic oxygen using carbon based films: preliminary results

Cited by 4 publications

References 14 publications

Development of a Reusable Atomic Oxygen Sensor Using Zinc Oxide Thick Films

Development of a Reusable Atomic Oxygen Sensor Using Zinc Oxide Thick Films

In situ measurement of atomic oxygen flux using a silver film sensor onboard “TianTuo 1” nanosatellite

Implementation of a Cryogenic Facility for Space Debris Analysis

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