@inproceedings{oai:jaxa.repo.nii.ac.jp:00006373,
 author = {Amorim, Emmanuel and Levy, Leon and Boulay, Francoise and Migliorero, Gerard and Vielinguimbert, Virginie},
 book = {宇宙航空研究開発機構特別資料, JAXA Special Publication: 9th Spacecraft Charging Technology Conference},
 month = {Aug},
 note = {Electric arcs observed between solar cells have been identified as the origin of power losses on orbit. Such arcs have been identified as 'vacuum arcs' and have been shown to produce severe damage with functional destruction if the solar array provides sufficient current (1 A) under sufficient voltage (20 V) to sustain it. In the work presented here, we deal with power transfer systems encountered in equipment like SADM (Solar Array Drive Mechanism) involving many packaged circuits which are designed to carry high current (greater than 5 A) under voltages higher than 50 volts. This study is an investigation of vacuum arc propagation from one circuit to another. The experiments were performed on samples made with several metallic tracks and up to three electrical circuits (six tracks) were used at the same time. The experimental set-up consisted in triggering a first arc between two adjacent tracks while biasing two, three or four more tracks, and to monitor any kind of connection or propagation. The results obtained show that a vacuum arc can propagate from one circuit to another: arcs triggered by propagation between tracks separated by more than 10 mm were seen. This propagation is due to the expansion of the arc plasma produced by the first arc towards other tracks. From our experiments we have learned that any kind of connections between the electrical circuits are possible but a vacuum arc would more easily propagate by connecting to one of the tracks where the first arc was triggered. Arc movement on one track has been also observed along several centimeters. The damages produced by such arcs were heavy and; destructive: complete vaporization of anode tracks was observed. On cathode tracks, only partial melting and vaporization due to cathode spots of vacuum arcs were seen., 資料番号: AA0049206058, レポート番号: JAXA-SP-05-001E},
 pages = {530--537},
 publisher = {宇宙航空研究開発機構, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)},
 title = {Arc propagation on space power transfer systems: A first approach study},
 volume = {JAXA-SP-05-001E},
 year = {2005}
}