抄録
Volume resistivities of polyimide film under simulated space environment are measured with “charge storage decay method.” The test material was irradiated by electron beam in a vacuum chamber to simulate space environment. Volume resistivity is calculated from the surface potential decay time constant after stopping electron irradiation. This is called “charge storage decay method” and is shown to be the preferred method to determine resistivities of highly insulating materials. As a result of experiments, we have found that volume resistivity of polyimide film is in order of 1016 Ωm, which is one order higher than the result from the conventional resistivity measurement method prescribed in JIS or ASTM. Higher resistivity requires much longer field relaxation time after injection of electron to dissipate through the material. Thus, charging analysis of spacecraft needs to consider this higher resistivity. The effect of injection energy of electron is also examined and it is found that the higher the energy is, the faster the charge decay become.
