Design, development and experimental characterization of a laboratory model for the Destiny+ Dust Analyzer (DDA)

This work has been developed between Politecnico di Torino and Universität Stuttgart, in the Institut für Raumfahrtsysteme (IRS). A laboratory model for the Destiny+ Dust Analyzer (DDA) Time-of-flight (TOF) Mass Spectrometer is designed, developed and experimentally characterized. A basic and simple design is created to exploit as much as possible the cylindrical symmetry of the instrument. Using the Software SIMION 8.1, simulations and tests are conducted to investigate the response function of the detector and to optimize the geometry and the electrical potentials applied on every component. Features of the ions after an impact ionization are studied and implemented in the simulation workbench, in order to analyse their effect on the TOF Spectrum. Along with the linear configuration, a Reflectron setup is designed and characterized according to the size, power and mass resolution requirements: the combination of the two configurations can help having a complete understanding of the ions’ angular and kinetic energy distributions. The reason for this work is to build inside the mentioned Institute a test bench that will be used to develop the chemical analyzer flying in 2022 on the probe Destiny+. In the Introduction an overview can be found on the mission, the scientific background and the software used for the simulations, SIMION 8.1. Then the main features of our simulations are explained, along with considerations on initial kinetic energy and angular distribution, phenomena still not completely understood. The problem of the focusing of the particle beam is faced in the following chapter, while the last one is about the Reflectron and its design. In the Conclusions, the main results are summarized along with suggestions and comments aimed at the improvement of the system.