41st Annual Frequency Control Symposium - 1987 SURFACE INTERACTION OF ATOMIC HYDROGEN WITH TEFLON

Summary We studied the process of deterioration of a hydrogen maser’s Teflon storage bulb coating, and examined the coating’s physical and chemical characteristics. The deterioration, which accompanied exposure to the maser’s atomic hydrogen beam, was marked by decreasing maser line Q and microwave output power. The likelihood of Teflon degradation by ultraviolet radiation from the beam source was eliminated. Teflon from the bulb, and Teflon from the same original batch, were compared with Teflon from