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Full-Text Articles in Physics
Breakdown Analysis Of Electrostatic Discharge, Sam Hansen, Allen Andersen, Jr Dennison
Breakdown Analysis Of Electrostatic Discharge, Sam Hansen, Allen Andersen, Jr Dennison
Posters
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) and the associated material breakdown is the primary cause for spacecraft damage due to space environment interactions. This phenomenon occurs when the space plasma fluxes charge a craft to high voltages where insulating materials then break down. This failure allows current to flow freely through the material which; can damage or destroy onboard electrical systems. My work focuses on the effects of these breakdowns on suspect materials commonly used for electrical insulation in space. The USU Material Physics Group has performed ESD tests on hundreds of samples to date. The ESD damage sites of these samples have …
A Dual-Defect Model For Predicting Lifetimes For Polymeric Discharges From Accelerated Testing, Allen Andersen, Jr Dennison
A Dual-Defect Model For Predicting Lifetimes For Polymeric Discharges From Accelerated Testing, Allen Andersen, Jr Dennison
Posters
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can cause catastrophic failures in electronic devices. Estimating the lifetime of dielectrics under prolonged high field exposure is a major design concern for applications including spacecraft, high voltage DC power transmission, and semiconductor electronics. Dielectric strengths listed in engineering handbooks are primarily based on cursory measurements with poor repeatability and tend to overestimate ESD fields in real applications. Standard measurements subject test samples to ≈500 V/s ramp rates until breakdown. We present the results of ESD studies in two prototypical polymer dielectrics using a ramp rate of ≈20 V/4s until breakdown, together with tests applying a …
Cathodoluminescence Events Coincident With Muon Detection, Kenneth Zia, Justin Dekany, Jr Dennison
Cathodoluminescence Events Coincident With Muon Detection, Kenneth Zia, Justin Dekany, Jr Dennison
Posters
Samples of highly disordered insulating material were irradiated with 1 keV electron beams, resulting in three forms of light emission with differing duration: arcs (<1 s duration), flares (~100 s), and cathodoluminescence (as long as beam is on). The arc and cathodoluminescence phenomena are well understood, while the flares are not. Flares were observed at intervals of ~2 per hr. This is within a factor of 2 for the expected muon crosssection at an altitude of Logan, UT (1370 m) caused by high altitude cosmic rays. Based on this suggestive evidence, we have proposed incorporation of standard muon coincidence detection apparatus into our vacuum cathode luminescence test facility. Measurements of the muon cross-section zenith angle and angle-dependence will provide calibration of the muon detector. If muon evidence coincides with the flare events, this will provide definitive evidence of the flare origin. We will discover whether a correlation between flares of charged sample are caused by transitory muons which trigger discharge and subsequent recharging during our testing of space materials.