Plasma Characterization of Hall Thruster with Active and Passive Segmented Electrodes
Authors: Y. Raitses, D. Staack and N. J. Fisch
Date of PPPL Report: September 2002
Presented at: the 38th AIAA Joint Propulsion conference, July 7-10, 2002, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Non-emissive electrodes and ceramic spacers placed along the Hall thruster channel are shown to affect the plasma potential distribution and the thruster operation. These effects are associated with physical properties of the electrode material and depend on the electrode configuration, geometry and the magnetic field distribution. An emissive segmented electrode was able to maintain thruster operation by supplying an additional electron flux to sustain the plasma discharge between the anode and cathode neutralizer. These results indicate the possibility of new configurations for segmented electrode Hall thruster.