Parametric studies of the Hall current plasma thruster

Ashkenazy, J.; Raitses, Yevgeny; Appelbaum, G.

doi:10.1063/1.872877

Cited by 36 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…7,9,15,16 The ability to control the plasma flow through a segmentation of the thruster channel has been demonstrated both theoretically 3,22 and experimentally. 22,23 In previous works the channel width effects were mostly considered and studied with respect to ionization efficiency 24 and thruster scaling.…”

Section: γ ν ∝mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The V-I characteristics exhibit a typical jump of the discharge current above a certain discharge voltage, which is different for different channel wall materials with different SEE properties. 15,16 However, kinetic simulations [17][18][19][20] suggest that in a weakly collisional thruster plasma the electron EDF is depleted at high energies due to wall losses. A similar depletion effect of wall losses on electron EDF is also known in other types of low-pressure gas discharges.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Electron-wall Interaction in Hall Thrusters

Raitses¹,

Staack²,

Keidar³

et al. 2005

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Electron-wall interaction effects in Hall thrusters are studied through measurements of the plasma response to variations of the thruster channel width and the discharge voltage.The discharge voltage threshold is shown to separate two thruster regimes. Below this threshold, the electron energy gain is constant in the acceleration region and therefore, secondary electron emission (SEE) from the channel walls is insufficient to enhance electron energy losses at the channel walls. Above this voltage threshold, the maximum electron temperature saturates. This result seemingly agrees with predictions of the temperature saturation, which recent Hall thruster models explain as a transition to space charge saturated regime of the near-wall sheath. However, in the experiment, the maximum saturation temperature exceeds by almost three times the critical value estimated under the assumption of a Maxwellian electron energy distribution function.The channel narrowing, which should also enhance electron-wall collisions, causes unexpectedly larger changes of the plasma potential distribution than does the increase of the electron temperature with the discharge voltage. An enhanced anomalous crossed field mobility (near-wall or Bohm-type) is suggested by a hydrodynamic model as an explanation to the reduced electric field measured inside a narrow channel. We found, however, no experimental evidence of a coupling between the electron temperature and the location of the accelerating voltage drop, which might have been expected due to the SEE-induced near-wall conductivity.2

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Section: γ ν ∝mentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

Electron-wall Interaction in Hall Thrusters

Raitses¹,

Staack²,

Keidar³

et al. 2005

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“…Let us assume that the source function due to ionization is S = n e n a (13) and that the rate of losses due to recombination at the walls per unit area is W = fn e c s : (14) Here < v > , being the ionization cross section and v the electron velocity, n a is the density of the neutral atoms and c s is the ion acoustic velocity. In the isothermal case we assume here the ion acoustic velocity i s c s = q (T e =m i ).…”

Section: The Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Control of the electric-field profile in the Hall thruster

2001

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“…In this brief communication we demonstrate how the maximum electron temperature depends on SEE properties of the channel wall material. Although the effects of the wall material on the thruster discharge are well documented in the literature, 5,9,17,18 this work presents new experimental results that show how SEE affects the electron temperature in the bulk plasma of the thruster discharge.…”

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Measurements of secondary electron emission effects in the Hall thruster discharge

et al. 2006

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The dependence of the maximum electron temperature on the discharge voltage is studied for two Hall thruster configurations, in which a collisionless plasma is bounded by channel walls made of materials with different secondary electron emission (SEE) properties. The linear growth of the temperature with the discharge voltage, observed in the channel with a low SEE yield, suggests that SEE is responsible for the electron temperature saturation in the thruster configuration with the channel walls having a higher SEE yield. The fact that the values of the electron temperature at saturation are rather high may indirectly support the recently predicted kinetic regime of the space charge saturation of the near-wall sheath in the thruster discharge. A correlation between the effects of the channel wall material on the electron temperature and the electron cross-field current was also observed.

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Parametric studies of the Hall current plasma thruster

Cited by 36 publications

References 3 publications

Electron-wall Interaction in Hall Thrusters

Electron-wall Interaction in Hall Thrusters

Control of the electric-field profile in the Hall thruster

Measurements of secondary electron emission effects in the Hall thruster discharge

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