Development of a novel high-energy electron shielding Ta/Al composite coating for electronic packaging material via cold spray

Abstract

To protect electronic components of satellite/spacecraft from high-energy electron radiations in the geostationary earth orbit (GEO) environment, a novel radiation shielding Ta/Al composite coating was successfully deposited on electronic packaging material (Al2O3) by cold spray. Results showed that the radiation shielding effectiveness (against 1 MeV electron irradiation with the delivered dose of ∼60 kGy) of the prepared coating with a thickness of 0.3 mm can reach as high as 98.5% due to the synergistic effect of Ta (high atomic number, high-Z) and Al (low atomic number, low-Z) materials. Moreover, the microstructure of the prepared coating remained intact after 1 MeV electron irradiation. Overall, cold sprayed Ta/Al composite coating exhibited excellent shielding ability against high-energy electron radiation.