A compact matchbox-sized dust detector for lunar surface applications

In this work, a matchbox-sized dust detector with a wide measurement range was developed for the lunar surface applications. The characteristics of the detector response to lunar dust simulant deposition mass, particle size, light incidence angle, and temperature are investigated experimentally. It is found that in current study the short-circuit current of the dust detector decreases with the increase in dust deposition mass overall. However, the pattern of current reduction is closely dependent on the size of the dust particles. Specifically, for the dust particle in the range of 75–100 μm, the short-circuit current of the detector tends to decrease slowly and approximately linearly as the dust deposition mass increases, irrespective of light incidence angle. However, for the particle in the size range of 0–25 μm, the decrease of short-circuit current with dust deposition mass can be well described by an exponential function. In addition, the occlusion coefficients for different particle size distributions at different light incidence angles, ranging from −0.88 to −0.08, are also obtained, which is important for determining the mass range of dust deposited on lunar surface-mounted detector at the corresponding conditions. The present research can provide guidance for lunar dust detection with solar cell-based detector.