Large dielectric plate antenna charging and protection in space

This paper reports the study of the charging of a large dielectric plate antenna in space. The work presented here consists of three parts. First, the surface charging of the large dielectric plate antenna and its effects due to aurora precipitate electron. The antenna surface could charge to kV magnitude because of its thick dielectric plate, and the charging rate of the wake surface is nearly two times of the ram surface. Second, a spacecraft charging test equipment with a plasma source and an electron source was used to simulate the charging environment of the antenna components, and discharge was observed. Finally, in order to minimize risks associated with antenna surface charging, a tin oxide (TO) coating based on kapton was applied. It could control surface charging potential below 100 V and the insertion loss of the film was less than 0.1 dB. TO coating on both sides of kapton can be used to minimize the internal charging level.