Abstract
The condition of materials affected by irradiations is one of the concerns in the space technology. Under irradiation, polymeric materials are able to store charges resulting in electrostatic discharges with potential harmfull consequences. The aim of this work is to explore the possibility of the in situ measurement of space charge distributions in polymers exposed to electron beam irradiation. We have developed a small PEA system that can be mounted in the vacuum chamber in order to measure the internal space charge of materials during the irradiation. Negative charge accumulation was clearly observed during electron beam irradiation, and the position depended on the electron energy. These results proves that the new in-situ space charge observation system by using PEA method can monitor the space charge behaviour in vacuum.
