Physics of closed drift thrusters

Zhurin, Viacheslav V.; Kaufman, H. R.; Robinson, R. S.

doi:10.1088/0963-0252/8/1/021

Cited by 478 publications

(365 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…1 A typical HT has a ceramic coaxial channel in which many important processes occur. Ions are accelerated by an intense axial electric field near the exit plane of the thruster, in the so-called acceleration region, where the electron mobility along the thruster axis is suppressed by a strong radial magnetic field.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasma-sheath instability in Hall thrusters due to periodic modulation of the energy of secondary electrons in cyclotron motion

et al. 2008

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Particle-in-cell simulation of Hall thruster plasmas reveals a plasma-sheath instability manifesting itself as a rearrangement of the plasma sheath near the thruster channel walls accompanied by a sudden change of many discharge parameters. The instability develops when the sheath current as a function of the sheath voltage is in the negative conductivity regime. The major part of the sheath current is produced by beams of secondary electrons counter-streaming between the walls. The negative conductivity is the result of nonlinear dependence of beam-induced secondary electron emission on the plasma potential. The intensity of such emission is defined by the beam energy. The energy of the beam in crossed axial electric and radial magnetic fields is a quasi-periodical function of the phase of cyclotron rotation, which depends on the radial profile of the potential and the thruster channel width. There is a discrete set of stability intervals determined by the final phase of the cyclotron rotation of secondary electrons. As a result, a small variation of the thruster channel width may result in abrupt changes of plasma parameters if the plasma state jumps from one stability interval to another.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasma-sheath instability in Hall thrusters due to periodic modulation of the energy of secondary electrons in cyclotron motion

et al. 2008

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“…The layer is etched using the FALCON ion source [7], which is essentially an anode layer thruster with a focused ion beam [8]. It is based on the design of closed drift thrusters (also known as Hall thrusters), which are typically used for space propulsion due to their compactness, simplicity and very high effi ciency of converting inlet gas molecules and atoms into ions of the beam [9].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Operation modes of the FALCON ion source as a part of the AMS cluster tool

Girka

Bizyukov

et al. 2015

Nukleonika

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Abstract. The paper investigates the options to increase the production yield of temperature compensated surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices with a defi ned range of operational frequencies. The paper focuses on the preparation of large wafers with SiO 2 and AlN/Si 3 N 4 depositions. Stability of the intermediate SiO 2 layer is achieved by combining high power density UV radiation with annealing in high humidity environment. A uniform thickness of the capping AlN layer is achieved by local high-rate etching with a focused ion beam emitted by the FALCON ion source. Operation parameters and limitations of the etching process are discussed.

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“…The electron and ion separation characteristics determine the electric field distribution and influence the ion acceleration process indirectly. 22,23 Based on the above analysis, the electron density is revised as follows:…”

Section: Improvement Of the Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improvement of the low frequency oscillation model for Hall thrusters

Wang

2016

AIP Advances

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The low frequency oscillation of the discharge current in Hall thrusters is a major aspect of these devices that requires further study. While the existing model captures the ionization mechanism of the low frequency oscillation, it unfortunately fails to express the dynamic characteristics of the ion acceleration. The analysis in this paper shows this is because of the simplification of the electron equation, which affects both the electric field distribution and the ion acceleration process. Additionally, the electron density equation is revised and a new model that is based on the physical properties of ion movement is proposed.

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Physics of closed drift thrusters

Cited by 478 publications

References 12 publications

Plasma-sheath instability in Hall thrusters due to periodic modulation of the energy of secondary electrons in cyclotron motion

Plasma-sheath instability in Hall thrusters due to periodic modulation of the energy of secondary electrons in cyclotron motion

Operation modes of the FALCON ion source as a part of the AMS cluster tool

Improvement of the low frequency oscillation model for Hall thrusters

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