Contamination control approach for the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer satellite instrumentation

The Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer will perform an all-sky survey and spectroscopic observations over the wavelength range 80-900A. Hydrocarbon and particulate contamination will potentially affect the throughput and signal to noise ratio of the signal detected by the instruments. A witness sample program is here used to investigate and monitor the effects of specific contaminants on EUV reflectivity. Witness samples were intentionally contaminated with thin layers of pump oil. An oil layer 150 A thick was applied and found to evaporate over 8 hours. The EUV reflectivity and imaging properties were then measured and found to be acceptable for grazing angles between 5 and 30 deg. In a second test, layers 500 A thick were deposited and then allowed to evaporate in vacuum; once the oil had evaporated to at least 350 A, the final sample reflectivity was degraded less than 10 percent, but the image was degraded severely by scattering. An outline of the contamination control program is also presented.