Modeling extreme ultraviolet suppression of electrostatic analyzers

Area of Science:

• Space instrumentation
• Plasma physics
• Optical engineering

Background:

• Spaceborne time-of-flight mass spectrometers utilize electrostatic analyzers (ESAs) to measure ion energy-per-charge ratios.
• ESAs must also shield sensitive detectors from intense solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) radiation, requiring suppression rates exceeding 1:10(7).
• Current methods typically establish EUV suppression through post-design testing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel technique for modeling the EUV suppression capabilities of ESAs.
• To integrate photon ray tracing into the SIMION ion optics software for this purpose.
• To facilitate the active consideration of EUV suppression requirements during the ESA design phase.

Main Methods:

• Development of a photon ray tracing model.
• Integration of the model into SIMION, a widely used ion optics design software.
• Comparison of simulation results with experimental measurements from a flight instrument.

Main Results:

• The developed technique accurately models EUV photon suppression in ESAs.
• Simulations show good agreement with measurements from the Wind spacecraft's Mass instrument ESA.
• The modeling approach provides insights into effective ESA design for EUV shielding.

Conclusions:

• The novel photon ray tracing technique offers a powerful tool for designing and optimizing EUV suppression in ESAs.
• This method allows for proactive inclusion of stringent suppression requirements in the instrument design process.
• The findings contribute to establishing design rules for spaceborne ESAs requiring high levels of radiation protection.