Development and Validation of an Experimental Platform for Physicochemical Modification of Simulated Lunar Dust

Prolonged exposure to high-energy particles can alter the physicochemical properties of lunar dust. Once deposited on the power-transfer interfaces of wireless charging devices, such dust may substantially reduce transfer efficiency. However, irradiation-induced modification of lunar dust remains poorly understood, leaving dust-mitigation strategies for wireless power transfer insufficiently defined. To address this issue, a physicochemical modification platform for lunar-dust simulants was developed based on a 2.45 GHz electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) discharge with magnetic-nozzle extraction. The microwave transmission system and magnetic-field configuration were optimized to enable efficient plasma generation and beam extraction. Plasma diagnostics showed that, by varying the microwave power and operating pressure, the electron density in the sample region could be maintained on the order of 10¹⁶ m⁻³, with ion energies ranging from several electronvolts to 20 eV. A grid-acceleration structure further increased the characteristic ion energy to approximately 165 eV. Irradiation experiments were subsequently conducted on representative highland and mare lunar-dust simulants. Both samples exhibited clear changes in relative permittivity and complex permeability, preliminarily demonstrating the platform’s capability to modify lunar-dust simulants with different compositions.