Coatings in harsh space environment


Coatings in harsh space environment

Pelizzo, M. G.; Corso, A. J.; Tessarolo, E.; Böttger, R.; Hübner, R.

In recent years, the study of space agent effects on optical coatings has become priority in view of future selected missions which will explore increasingly hostile environments. The impact on the morphology, on the structure and on the performance of coatings and materials due to ion and electron irradiation has been studied through various investigative techniques [1,2]. The irradiation sessions have been carried out at accelerators adopting different experimental regimes to reproduce space conditions in laboratory. A predictive model of the optical performance based on of the damage induced by protons and alpha particles has been developed [3]. Changes in the reflectance and transmittance properties have been attributed to density and refraction index variations due to implantation of low energetic particles. Bubble formation has been observed in metals, while delamination occurs when particles accumulated at interfaces, such as those in metal-protected thin films. Blistering of top layers has been observed in oxide-protected metal coatings (Fig.1). Impact on the performance of the coatings in various spectral ranges including extreme ultraviolet is discussed.
[1] Pelizzo, M.; Corso, A.J.; Zuppella, P.; Windt, D.L.; Mattei, G.; Nicolosi P., Stability of extreme ultraviolet multilayer coatings to low energy proton bombardment. Opt. Express 2011, 19, 14838-14844.
[2] Zuccon, S.; Napolitani, E.; Tessarolo, E.; Zuppella, P.; Corso, A.J.; Gerlin, F.; Nardello, M.; Pelizzo, M.G. Effects of helium ion bombardment on metallic gold and iridium thin films. Opt. Mat. Express 2015, 5(1), 176–187.
[3] M.G. Pelizzo, A.J. Corso1, E. Tessarolo, R. Böttger, R. Hübner, E. Napolitani, M. Bazzan, M. Rancan, L. Armelao, W. Jark, D. Eichert, A. Martucci, Morphological and functional modifications of optical thin films for space applications irradiated with low-energy helium ions, paper in preparation, 2018.

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  • Lecture (Conference)
    Physics of X-Ray and Neutron Multilayer Structures, PXRNMS 2018, 07.-09.11.2018, Palaiseau, France

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