Iridium metals films are currently being considered as substrates for the study of contamination layers deposited in the space environment. In situ spectroscopic ellipsometry has been applied to monitor the oxygen plasma etching of iridium/chromium/fused silica, using an electron cyclotron resonance plasma source to simulate the low earth orbital environment. The analyses of the spectroscopic Psi and Delta data at selected time slices suggest that the iridium film has been etched away gradually ((similar to)3.2 nm per year in LEO) upon plasma irradiation while showing no signs of oxidation or other chemical changes. Results indicate that, despite the thickness loss, iridium metals can indeed be used in space contamination studies.
Iridium substrates for space contamination studies: Erosion rates under atomic oxygen exposure
2003
5 Seiten, 20 Quellen
Conference paper
English
Atomic oxygen erosion phenomena
AIAA | 1997
|Influence of manufacture processing on polymer sample atomic oxygen erosion rates
British Library Online Contents | 1997
Protected Silver for Space Mirror Evolution under High Atomic Oxygen Exposure
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2013
|