Dielectric Surface Discharges: Dependence on Incident Electron Flux

A very extensive experimental study of planar-dielectric discharge dependence on monoenergetic 20 keV incident electron flux is reported. The discharge pulse characteristics studied are peak current, released charge, pulse duration and energy dissipated, all measured at load resistors attached to the dielectric specimen metal backplate and metal mask. The dependence of these characteristics on incident electron flux is described for Kapton H, Mylar and FEP Teflon, and only Kapton exhibits discharge characteristics which are significantly flux-dependent. It has also been found that Kapton and Teflon exhibit discharge fatigue, often producing a cessation of discharging after the occurrence of a few discharge arcs.