Oxygen plasma ashers and an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) sources are currently being used for low Earth orbit (LEO) simulation. The suitability of each of these simulation techniques is considered. Thin film coatings are characterized by optical techniques, including variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry, optical spectrophotometry, and laser light scatterometry. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been used to characterize the surface morphology of thin aluminum films as a function of substrate temperature during deposition. Results on diamondlike carbon (DLC) films show that DLC degrades with simulated atomic oxygen (AO) exposure at a rate comparable to Kapton polyimide. Since DLC is not as susceptible as Kapton to environmental factors such as moisture absorption, it could potentially provide more accurate measurements of AO fluence on short space flights.
Low earth simulation and materials characterization
Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets ; 30 , 1
1993-02-01
Sonstige
Keine Angabe
Englisch
Low Earth Simulation and Materials Characterization
Online Contents | 1993
|Low earth simulation and materials characterization
AIAA | 1993
|Low Earth Orbit Simulation and Materials Characterization
Online Contents | 1993
|"Complex-2". Low earth orbital environment simulation facility for materials durability evaluation
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1992
|