Multipactor prediction for on-board spacecraft RF equipment with the MEST software tool

Within the framework of a project sponsored by the European Space Agency (ESA), we have developed a software tool to predict the occurrence of multipactor discharge in a simple radio frequency (RF) device modeled as parallel plates. The tool uses a micro-level explicit representation of the electrons (i.e., each electron in the system is modeled separately), and includes a detailed Monte Carlo model of the secondary electron emission process in the plates. Materials secondary emission yield (SEY) is described using either the usual parameter set (E₁, E₂, and σ_max), or a more detailed model, where the contributions due to true secondary, backscattered or elastically reflected electrons are given their own sets of parameters, together with additional parameters for the angle dependence. The simulator has been validated using experimental data gathered at ESA and the Universidad Auto´noma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. The simulator helped in the selection of material coatings for the mitigation of Multipactor effect in RF transmission lines on-board satellite payloads.