Experimental Studies of low energy Proton Irradiation of thin vacuum deposited Aluminum Layers

We present experimental studies of degradation effects caused by low energetic proton irradiation on thin Aluminum layers. The studies were performed by use the Complex Irradiation Facility (CIF) at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Bremen, Germany. Different proton doses and energies at two temperature levels of the samples were considered. The result of the irradiation tests is a formation of bubbles at the Aluminum surface. They are filled with molecular Hydrogen gas, which is created by the recombination processes of the metal free electrons and the incident protons. The average size of the bubbles increases with higher proton doses. As a consequence of the effect the metallic surface morphology is changed significantly. Key words: blistering; space environmental effects; complex irradiation facility; proton irradiation; Aluminum layer.