Deposition Sciences, Inc. Custom Heat-Resistant Thermal Control Film Sunshade

Product Overview Sunshade, a thermal control material are utilized on satellite radar domes (radomes) to reject incident solar heat radiation while simultaneously allowing radio frequencies to pass unattenuated. This passively protects satellite electronics from being overheated by the sun without compromising transceiver bandwidth. The DSI Difference DSI Sunshade was specifically developed in collaboration with satellite engineers to deliver efficient heat management, while also accommodating the increased demand for high speed data transmission in current satellite technology. It can achieve both of these goals simultaneously because it is an all dielectric film, unlike the patterned metal coatings used in the past. DSI Sunshade coatings can be applied to substrates as large as 2.5 ft x 10 ft. A low emissivity coating on the back surface reduces thermal load into the satellite and balances the stress of the front surface coating. This makes the product easy to roll and unroll, and renders it sufficiently flexible and conformable to enable it to be easily wrapped onto complex shaped radome assemblies. DSI Sunshade is a space qualified and flight proven product. Technical Information Traditional multi-layer insulation (MLI) blankets for satellite and spacecraft use consist of a layer of metal coating on a plastic film. Several of these sheets are combined with insulating spacer layers to complete the assembly. This configuration provides highly efficient blocking of solar heat radiation, but the metal coating also absorbs and reflects radio frequencies, thus attenuating the signal and lowering data rates. To address this, a grid pattern is typically laser ablated in the metal film to allow some RF transmission. However, there remains a direct relationship between increased solar heat blocking and reduced data transmission in MLI blankets. DSI Sunshade coatings are a unique, all dielectric thin film applied to polyimide sheets. They are used in a single ply. The all dielectric construction efficiently reflects solar heat radiation, but is also virtually transparent at radio frequencies below 18 GHz.