Influence of the injected charge polarity on the electrical behavior of CMX 100-AR cover glass submitted to electron irradiation

Under electron irradiation, insulating materials may charge either negatively or positively depending on their electron emission properties and characteristics of the incident electrons. The electrical behavior of these materials is linked to the sign of the injected charge. Some spacecraft materials may be subject is some situations to negative charging and in other situations to positive charging. The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of the sign of the injected charge on the electric characteristics of CMX 100 AR coverglass. It was shown that the positive charging leads to about 4 times higher surface conductivity than negative charging. The practical consequences of these results are then discussed.