Abstract:
Spacecraft and other vacuum equipment are facing the development requirements of higher voltage grade and miniaturization, however, vacuum flashover is prone to occur along the solid-vacuum insulation interface. To improve electric strength along the surface, we have successfully built two microstructures, the microgrooves and the printed metal, on the dielectric surface through 3D printing technology. It is found that the printed microstructures can effectively suppress the surface charge accumulation process through charge accumulation experimental studies. At the same time, the conditions of different microstructure parameters are further studied through experiments, including different number of microgrooves as well as different width and number of the printed metal wire. Increasing the number and width of microstructures is found to be beneficial in enhancing their inhibitory effect on charge accumulation. Finally, a PIC simulation is conducted to study the electron movement and secondary electron avalanche development. In conjunction with the experimental results, it is found that the microstructures are capable of scattering electrons, leading to the effects of inhibiting surface charge accumulation and enhancing electric strength along the surface.