Damage effect of keV proton irradiation on aluminized Kapton film

Damage effects of proton irradiation on aluminized Kapton films were investigated through ground simulation experiments, in which the energy of protons was 90 keV and the flux was 5.0 x 10(11) cm(-2) s(-1). Changes in surface morphology, optical properties, microhardness and microstructure of Kapton/Al were analyzed. The experimental results show that proton irradiation results in the increase of surface roughness and microhardness, and the degradation of the reflective property in the 500-1200 nm range. Raman spectra and XPS analysis demonstrate that changes in chemical structure occurred during irradiation, including the bond breaking of the part of the carbonyl and aromatic ether, ring opening reaction of cyclic imide, and the formation of some new bonds and structure. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.