A study on degradation of germanium coating on Kapton used for spacecraft sunshield application

Esther, ACM and Dey, A and Sridhara, N and Yougandar, B and Bera, Parthasarathi and Anandan, C and Rangappa, D and Sharma, AK (2015) A study on degradation of germanium coating on Kapton used for spacecraft sunshield application. Surface and Interface Analysis, 47 (13). pp. 1155-1160. ISSN 01422421

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Abstract

Sunshield membranes made of germanium-coated black polyimide (GBP) or Kapton are often used on the reflector/transmitter antenna of satellites for thermal control applications. However, the germanium top layer is prone to degrade during ground storage and implementation. Hence, vacuum/inert gas-sealed packaging is required for storing the membranes, followed by a staggered fabrication schedule as the shelf-life of the GBP is identified as only ~6months. In the present study, microstructural, thermo-optical, and electrical properties along with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies for evaluating oxidation states of the as-received and degraded GBP films have been investigated thoroughly. The radio frequency (RF) loss behavior of both the films has also been studied for S band (2.5–3.5 GHz), Ku band (10.5–14.5 GHz), and Ka band (30–35 GHz).

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	AERONAUTICS > Aeronautics (General) CHEMISTRY AND MATERIALS > Chemistry and Materials (General) CHEMISTRY AND MATERIALS > Composite Materials
Depositing User:	Mrs SK Pratibha
Date Deposited:	25 Jun 2018 10:41
Last Modified:	25 Jun 2018 10:41
URI:	http://nal-ir.nal.res.in/id/eprint/12852

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