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Investigation of properties of Faraday cup with split collector
Havelka, Matěj ; Pavlů, Jiří (advisor) ; Vaverka, Jakub (referee)
Solar wind is plasma propagating from the Sun through interplanetary space. For determination of the parameters of this cosmic plasma, spacecraft often carry so-called Faraday cups, which can be used to determine the energy distribution function of ions in the plasma. Apart from energy distribution, it is necessary to study other parameters, such as composition and direction of travel of the particles. Direction measurements in the solar wind can be performed using a Faraday cup with a split collector plate into two or more sections. This technique is employed, for example, in the BMSW-LG instrument, which is designed for in situ measurements in the vicinity of the Moon's surface. The gap in between sections of the collector plate can introduce unwanted effects into the measurement, therefore new setup has been developed for the purpose of testing the BMSW-LG instrument and to study effects of the gap on plasma diagnostics. In this setup, an ion beam is used to scan the surface of the collector plate while measuring ion currents from all electrodes. The BMSW-LG instrument was tested thoroughly and then gradually heated up to 70 ◦ C to determine the stability of electrometric amplifiers. Effects of the gap were studied at different energies and angles. From the measurements, it can be concluded that the...
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