Based on polyimide (PI), epoxy resin (EP), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) typical dielectric materials used in spacecraft, a research platform for charge-discharge experiment under strong field was established. The influence of irradiation field strength, beam energy, dielectric thickness, etc., on electrostatic discharge characters of dielectric materials were studied and summarized. The results show that with the increase of field strength, the frequency of induced electrostatic discharge increases, the accumulated charge on the dielectric surface decreases, and the dielectric surface potential decreases; Under the same conditions, PI has the lowest discharge frequency and the highest surface dynamic balance potential. The thicker the dielectric material, the lower the discharge frequency, the higher the surface dynamic equilibrium potential; The shape and size of the background electrodes also affect the discharge frequency. When the area is the same, the sharper the electrode edge, the higher the discharge frequency. When the shape is the same, the larger the grounding area, the higher the discharge frequency. By proposing the induced discharge test method, the function mechanism of spatial environmental factors on the electrostatic discharge of typical dielectric materials are obtained. Comparative analysis on electrostatic properties of different dielectric materials can provide data reference and technical support for spacecraft electrostatic safety and protection.

AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) with two different gate–drain distances (30 $\mathsf{\mu }$m and 10 $\mathsf{\mu }$m) were exposed to 1 MeV, 0.6 MeV, and 0.4 MeV protons at a fluence of 2.16 × 10¹² cm⁻². The gate–channel electron density and low-field mobility were obtained by measuring the capacitance–voltage characteristics and current–voltage characteristics. After proton irradiation, the gate–channel low-field electron mobility of the AlGaN/GaN HEMT with a 30 $\mathsf{\mu }$m gate–drain distance increases and that with a 10 $\mathsf{\mu }$m gate–drain distance decreases. It is studied and found that the mobility behavior is related to the polarization Coulomb field scattering, and the proton irradiation influences the intensity of the polarization Coulomb field scattering by changing the polarization/strain distribution in the barrier layer. The different gate–drain distances correspond to different variation trends of scattering intensity. The effect of 1 MeV protons on the barrier layer is smaller compared with 0.6 MeV and 0.4 MeV protons, so the mobility variation is smaller.

In this paper, the electrostatic discharge of solar arrays in spacecraft energy systems is taken as the research object. The influence and internal mechanism of external electromagnetic radiation on electrostatic discharge is studied. Meanwhile, the charging and discharging test platform of spacecraft solar arrays under a strong field is first established. Then, the influence of irradiation field strength, electron beam energy and beam density on electrostatic discharge of solar arrays is analyzed and summarized. The results show that during the irradiation process of solar arrays using a high-energy electron beam under vacuum conditions, the higher the electron beam energy and the beam current density, the higher the discharge frequency of the solar array. When the intensity of the external electromagnetic radiation field increases, the discharge frequency also increases. Under the action of external radiation field with the same peak field strength, the larger the gap, the smaller the discharge frequency. With the increase in the field strength, the potential difference of each part of the solar array becomes smaller, and the peak of the discharge current decreases. The research results can provide technical reference for electrostatic protection of spacecraft solar arrays.

Electromagnetic response of clustered charged particles is the foundation of electromagnetic wave interaction with various natural phenomena, such as sandstorm, cloud, and volcano eruption. Previous studies usually employed assumption of independent charged particles, without considering the coupling between them. Here, we build up a general numerical model considering the multiple scattering effect, and test it with a charged two- and four-particle system. The numerical results show that independence assumption fails, while the number density of clustered charged particles is getting larger. This work may pave the way for deeper understanding on the electromagnetic interaction of clustered charged particles.

Shielding effectiveness (SE) of materials of current testing standards is often carried out by using continuous-wave measurement and amplitude-frequency characteristics curve is used to characterize the results. However, with in-depth study of high-power electromagnetic pulse (EMP) interference, it was discovered that only by frequency-domain SE of materials cannot be completely characterized by shielding performance of time-domain pulsed-field. And there is no uniform testing methods and standards of SE of materials against EMP. In this paper, the method of minimum phase transfer function is used to reconstruct shielded time-domain waveform based on the analysis of the waveform reconstruction method. Pulse of plane waves through an infinite planar material is simulated by using CST simulation software. The reconstructed waveform and simulation waveform is compared. The results show that the waveform reconstruction method based on the minimum phase can be well estimated EMP waveform through the infinite planar materials.

Ultra-high frequency (UHF) signal detection is one of the most effective methods for spatial orientation and partial discharge fault diagnosis. However, when the background noise, especially Gaussian white noise and narrow-band interference, is very high, or the detection region is remote, location accuracy may decrease. To improve this, a location system based on the improved higher-order cumulant time delay estimation (TDE) method combined with energy accumulation is proposed. In the system, the UHF waves are received by a four-antenna array. Improved fourth-order cumulants with a smoothed coherence transform (SCOT) window are used in the TDE, by which Gaussian white noise and narrow-band interference can be efficiently suppressed. The energy accumulation algorithm is applied to the cross-correlation results, by which the accuracy of TDE can be enhanced. The applicability of the proposed localization algorithm is evaluated by simulation and experiment. The simulation results show that the improved fourth-order cumulant TDE-parameter accumulation algorithm is superior in accuracy to traditional location methods. In the experimental measurements, two partial discharge measurement points located in a complex electromagnetic environment are tested. The results illustrate that the proposed method can effectively suppress Gaussian white and narrow-band noise, and the location results can satisfy accuracy requirements when the measurement point is within 70 m.