航天器污染检测新技术的研究

根据飞行时间二次离子质谱学的新进展,用当代最先进的仪器首次对三种典型的我国地面空间环境模拟污染样品进行了探索性实验研究。结果表明：由于极高的检测灵敏度,具备分析微量航天污染物成分的能力；由于很高的质量分辨本领,具备检测航天污染物包含的所有元素、同位素和各种化合物的指纹鉴别能力；成像分析可获得航天污染物各成分面分布及一定的分层信息,从而可望揭示出各类污染物的形成过程。与国内外现有的各类检测手段相比,飞行时间二次离子质谱是航天污染物检测强有力的一种新手段。讨论了需要进一步研究解决的主要问题,如果能开发出可避免二次污染并分阶段取样、保存样品的装置与之配合,该技术有望在迅速崛起的航天污染系统工程中发展成为一种独具特色的航天污染检测新技术。

RESEARCH ON THE NEW TECHNIQUE FOR SPACECRAFT CONTAMINATION ANALYSIS

Three typical samples collected contamination from Chinese space simulation system on ground have been analyzed by the up-to-date instrument based on the new development of Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (TOF-SIMS).Experimental results reveal the ability to analyze the trace composition of the aerospace contaminants due to its ultra-high sensitivity,the fingerprint identification possibility to detect the aerospace contaminants including all kinds of elements,isotopes as well as compounds due to its extremely high mass resolution.Meanwhile,secondary ion imaging can provide surface distribution and the certain layer information of the different components,and then some historical information concerning the formation of different kinds of contaminants can be deduced from the correlative spatial distribution of the main secondary ion images.TOF-SIMS is a new powerful tool in the aerospace contamination analysis comparing with other established methods.In addition,the main problems to be solved further are discussed in this paper.It is hopeful to develope an unique aerospace contamination detection technique in the rapid growing process of the space contamination systems engineering if it can be coupled with a new sampling method to avoid the secondary contamination and preserve the samples as well as to collect the contamination step by step.