Lunar Photoemission Studies with a Xe Excimer UV Lamp

Details Lunar Photoemission Studies with a Xe Excimer UV Lamp Lunar Photoemission Studies with a Xe Excimer UV Lamp

Dec 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009agufm.p23c1256d&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2009, abstract #P23C-1256

Physics

Plasma Physics

[6250] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Moon, [7831] Space Plasma Physics / Laboratory Studies And Experimental Techniques, [7849] Space Plasma Physics / Plasma Interactions With Dust And Aerosols

Scientific paper

The most populous species immediately above the lunar surface is the photoelectron gas. Measurements of a photoelectron sheath in the laboratory have been hindered by the lack of a sufficiently strong UV source to create an electron gas with large enough density to behave as plasma. We have evaluated the newly-developed Xe excimer lamp (Osram Xeradex) for creation of a photoelectron layer that is sufficiently dense to have a Debye shielding length that is of order 0.1 m. The measured photoemission from a Pt surface (quantum efficiency 1.0 x 10-3) is 0.01 A/m2 at a distance of 10 cm which corresponds to a UV photon flux (at 170 nm) of 6 x 1019 m-2s-1. The electron density above the illuminated metal surface is of order 1011 m-3 and the corresponding shielding length is 0.04 m. This photoelectron density is sufficient for studies of a photoelectron sheath. The quantum efficiency of lunar soil is about an order of magnitude smaller than that of Pt, which increases the shielding distance by about a factor of three. A new experimental configuration is under construction in which an array of nine lamps will illuminate a surface with simulated lunar soil and with prototype instruments for detecting and analyzing the lunar photoelectron gas and associated electric fields.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Lunar Photoemission Studies with a Xe Excimer UV Lamp does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Lunar Photoemission Studies with a Xe Excimer UV Lamp, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Lunar Photoemission Studies with a Xe Excimer UV Lamp will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1769377