Analysis of Charge Transport and Ionization Effect in Space-Used Polymers Under High-Energy Electron Irradiation

Polymer materials have been tested in the dedicated experimental facility SIRENE (ONERA, Toulouse, France) designed to reproduce the electron energy spectrum met in space in the (0-400 keV) energy range and to perform electric analysis on the materials through dedicated protocols with potential, current, and contactless pulsed-electro acoustic (CNES patent) measurements. A Novel experimental approach shall as well be presented, which allowed bringing into evidence the complex response of polymers under irradiation: polarization and charge differential mobility as well as physical structural changes have been analyzed with these new techniques allowing a better understanding and prediction of charging behavior and radiation-induced conductivity evolution of these polymers under space conditions.