Physico-chemical behavior of carbon materials under high temperature and ion irradiation

Carbon/carbon (C/C) composites have been chosen for the conception of the t hermal shield of the "Solar Probe" space mission. To understand their behav ior under solar aggressions (high temperature and ion irradiation) and know the possible interactions with the shipped-in instruments, these materials are tested in a facility that allows to partially simulate the solar envir onment and to carry out in situ measurements. The mass loss rate of the mat erials is recorded and the composition and distribution of the ejected spec ies are followed using an opened source mass spectrometer and a post-treatm ent XPS analysis of the condensed species on a gold-plated copper target is also performed. Besides this, the sputtering processes of graphite at high temperature and ion irradiation have been theoretically investigated in or der to understand the main parameters that can influence the erosion of the material and predict accurately the physico-chernical behavior of the CIC composites. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.