Ellipsometric study of metal samples

Exposed and unexposed (shielded) portions of the surfaces of six different metal samples (Al, Cu, Ni, Ta, W, and Zr) that had been mounted on LDEF were studied by variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry. The change in the optical constants of the metals caused by exposure to the space environment was measured. The measured optical constants reflect changes in the morphology and stoichiometry of a surface layer to a depth of this order of magnitude. For all the samples examined in this manner the exposed and unexposed portions exhibited dramatically different optical properties. In order to determine whether the observed changes were caused by the impact of oxygen atoms encountered in flight an experiment was set up in which samples identical to the original metal samples are exposed to a low-energy oxygen plasma in a microwave discharge chamber. Results of this experiment are reported, as well as an analysis of the observed data in terms of surface layers of different composition.