Characterising and Testing Deep UV LEDs for Use in Space Applications

Abstract

Deep ultraviolet (DUV) light sources are used to neutralise isolated test masses in highly sensitive space-based gravitational experiments. An example is the LISA Pathfinder charge management system, which uses low-pressure mercury lamps. A future gravitational-wave observatory such as eLISA will use UV light-emitting diodes (UV LEDs), which offer numerous advantages over traditional discharge lamps. Such devices have limited space heritage but are are now available from a number of commercial suppliers. Here we report on a test campaign that was carried out to quantify the general properties of three types of commercially available UV LEDs and demonstrate their suitability for use in space. Testing included general electrical and UV output measurements, spectral stability, pulsed performance, temperature dependence as well as thermal vacuum, radiation and vibration survivability.

References in corpus (3)

• The interaction between stray electrostatic fields and a charged free-falling test mass
• Space-borne Gravitational Wave Observatories
• Energy distribution and quantum yield for photoemission from air-contaminated gold surfaces under UV illumination close to the threshold

Cited by in corpus (6)

• Precision Charge Control for Isolated Free-Falling Test Masses: LISA Pathfinder Results
• 2023 Astrophotonics Roadmap: pathways to realizing multi-functional integrated astrophotonic instruments
• Effective decrease of photoelectric emission threshold from gold plated surfaces
• Numerical Modeling and Experimental Demonstration of Pulsed Charge Control for the Space Inertial Sensor used in LISA
• Lifetime Testing UV LEDs for Use in the LISA Charge Management System
• Two Approaches for the Passive Charge Management of Contactless Test Masses