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Genesis Samples Catalog
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Collectors
Collector Design
Basic Characterization
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BASIC CHARACTERIZATION


Basic characterization of the collector fragments consists of four parts:

  1. An overview image to assess size and surface condition
  2. High magnification images to assess density of particulate contaminants
  3. Measurement of collector thickness to determine which regime of the solar wind was collected
  4. Ellipsometry to assess thickness of molecular film contaminant
Catalogs of these characterizations are produced as data is accumulated.



Preparing to take high magnification image of a fragment Measurement of collector thickness
Preparing to take a high magnification image of a gold-on-sapphire collector fragment. Measurement of collector thickness to determine the in which regime the solar wind was collected: bulk solar wind (700 μm), coronal mass ejection (650 μm), high speed solar wind (600 μm) or interstream low speed wind (550 μm).

Fragment of aluminum-on-sapphire collector High magnification image of an aluminum-on-sapphire collector fragment
A 1.5 cm fragment of aluminum-on-sapphire collector. A high magnification image of an aluminum-on-sapphire collector fragment showing the density of particulate contamination. The field of view is 2 mm.

Mounting a fragment
Mounting fragment of gold-on-sapphire collector onto ellipsometer for thickness measurement of molecular film contamination. The film contamination is very thin, around 40 angstroms when present, and did not interfere with the capture of the solar wind.