Novel Prediction Methods of Multicarrier Multipactor for Space Industry Standards

Abstract

Multipactor prediction methods are of high relevance for the space industry in order to prevent its appearance during the design phase of RF high-power components. Up to the present time, prediction for multicarrier signals has been covered by an empirical rule, the 20-gap-crossing rule (20GCR), proposed in the 2003 version of the multipactor standard published by the European Cooperation for Space Standardization (ECSS). The 20GCR has been widely used by the space industry, although some studies have demonstrated that it might be inaccurate in some situations. The latest version of the ECSS multipactor standard, published in 2020, presents two novel methods for multipactor prediction with multicarrier signals: the pulsed method and the envelope sweep (ES) method, both simple, accurate enough, and suitable for industry standards. While the pulsed model is a simple and fast method based on a 1-D analytical theory, the ES method is more accurate and able to deal with real 3-D microwave structures. This article details both multipactor prediction methods, as well as their practical validation with a large dataset from previous analytical studies and experimental activities.