Development of Flashover Current Simulator for ESD Ground Testing Simulating GEO Environment

Solar array paddle sizes have been larger to generate power that is enough to operate many devices in only one satellite. The cover glass on solar array paddle can be charged on GEO environment. A flashover discharge is triggered by an electrostatic discharge and propagates at a velocity with discharging the amount of charge stored on the cover glass. Therefore, the charge and current waveform of flashover discharge depend on the paddle size and differential voltage. ESD ground testing needs simulating the flashover current, because the large paddle can cause large flashover. A flashover current simulator has been developed so far in our laboratory.