Abstract: In order to study the atomic oxygen corrosion of spacecraft materials in low earth orbit environment, an atomic oxygen simulator was established. In the simulator, a 2.45 GHz microwave source with maximum power of 600 W was launched into the circular cavity to generate ECR (electron cyclotron resonance) plasma. The oxygen ion beam moved onto a negatively biased Mo plate under the condition of symmetry magnetic mirror field confine, then was neutralized and reflected to form oxygen atom beam. The properties of plasma density, electron temperature, plasma space potential and ion incident energy were characterized. The atomic oxygen beam flux was calibrated by measuring the mass loss rate of Kapton during the atomic oxygen exposure. The test results show that the atomic oxygen beam with flux of 1016~1017 atoms•cm-2•s-1 and energy of 5~30 eV and a cross section of Φ80 mm could be obtained under the operating pressure of 10¬-1~10-3 Pa. Such a high flux source can provide accelerated simulation tests of materials and coatings for space applications.

Key words: Atomic oxygen, Low earth orbit space environment, ECR plasma, Microwave