Physics
Scientific paper
Jan 1992
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1992phdt........73c&link_type=abstract
Thesis (PH.D.)--MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, 1992.Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-04, Secti
Physics
1
Scientific paper
The operation of high voltage solar arrays in low earth orbit causes serious environmental interactions with the surrounding space plasma. Arcing on the negatively biased part of the solar array sets a practical limit on the operational voltage of the solar array. It has been proposed that arcing occurs due to collisional ionization of the neutral cloud desorbed from the dielectric coverglass and adhesive surfaces by the prebreakdown electron current emitted from the interconnector surface. The charging processes of the dielectric material in a solar cell by charged particles are studied numerically. If there is a field emission site with a high electric field enhancement factor beta on the conductor, charging processes due to enhanced field electron emission (EFEE) can be initiated and lead to desorption of neutral gas from the dielectric surface, creating a semi-vacuum neutral environment where pd is on the vacuum side of the Paschen minimum. Gas breakdown phenomena occurring in the semi -vacuum environment are studied analytically as well as numerically using a Monte Carlo-Particle in Cell (MC-PIC) code in a simplified one-dimensional system. The MC-PIC code is shown to be an efficient way to reproduce real physical phenomena with quantitative accuracy. The breakdown of a gas in semi-vacuum conditions is attributed to the field enhancement by positive ion space charges resulting in higher enhanced field electron emission from the cathode surface. The analytical expression for the breakdown condition is derived, and very good agreement with the numerical results and the published experimental data is obtained. The MC-PIC code is applied to a two-dimensional system which simulates the geometry of a conventional solar cell to determine the critical condition for the arcing onset. The neutral desorption from the dielectric surface is also calculated self-consistently by a Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) code. The computer simulation clearly shows the arcing onset occurs when the density of neutral gas exceeds a certain value. The critical electron stimulated desorption (ESD) yield for the arcing onset is calculated and shown to be from 0.01 to 1 for the bias voltages less than 500 volts negative. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617 -253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.) (Abstract shortened with permission of school.).
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