Abstract
In this paper, we propose a new Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) sensor with temperature control, which can assess outgassing properties during spacecraft development. It will be referred to as the “Twin-QCM sensor”. There are two types. The Twin-Cryogenic QCM (Twin-CQCM) sensor is warmed by a built-in heater with an operating temperature of -190 to +125°C, and the Twin-ThermoelectricQCM (Twin-TQCM) sensor is warmed and cooled by a built-in Peltier module that can control the temperature within -80 to +125°C. Using a temperature compensation technique, the temperature-dependent drift of the frequency was found to be less than ±10 ppm over all operating temperatures. An RTD temperature sensor was mounted on the quartz crystal to improve the accuracy of temperature measurement. To confirm the accuracy, an additional temperature sensor installed at the center of the crystal. The sensor output temperature value was compared to that of the additional sensor, with the difference between both temperature sensors being +0.4 to +2.6°C in the temperature range from -130 to +100°C. Through the measurement of the sensor's dynamic range, it was found that the deposited contaminant film in a vacuum increasingly changed such physical properties as viscoelasticity as the temperature increases.
Highlights
I N SPACECRAFT development, polymeric materials such as adhesives can generate contamination within a spacecraft
If outgassing from organic materials occurs under vacuum and produces deposits on spacecraft surfaces, the deposits can degrade the performance of onboard cameras, sensors, solar arrays, and thermal functional materials [1]–[8]
Because the oscillation drive margin of 3rd overtone is relatively less than that of the fundamental mode, the oscillation anomaly occurred only for the 3rd overtone. This suggests that properties such as density and viscosity of the deposited contaminant film on the Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) sensor changed according to the temperature increase
Summary
I N SPACECRAFT development, polymeric materials such as adhesives can generate contamination within a spacecraft. Whereas the temperature of a spacecraft surface facing away from the sun can fall below –20◦C, outgassed deposits have a high probability of sticking To prevent this contamination, materials for use in space are screened in Manuscript received December 26, 2020; accepted January 26, 2021. Some QCM sensors have been developed for space use [3], [13], [14] They use two sensor crystals to compensate for the temperature effect. This paper proposes a twin-electrode technique to simplify the sensor structure, to measure the crystal temperature directly, and to enable easy sensor replacement. The Twin-TQCM sensor can be used without a coolant liquid in either a vacuum or in atmosphere This sensor can be used to measure Atomic Oxygen (AO) flux.
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