Operation of a Segmented Hall Thruster with Low-sputtering Carbon-velvet Electrodes
Authors: Y. Raitses, D. Staack, A. Dunaevsky, and N.J. Fisch
Abstract:
Carbon fiber velvet material provides exceptional sputtering resistance properties exceeding those for graphite and carbon composite materials. A 2 kW Hall thruster with segmented electrodes made of this novel material was operated in the discharge voltage range of 200-700 V. The arcing between the floating velvet electrodes and the plasma was visually observed, especially during the initial conditioning time, which lasts for an hour. The comparison of voltage-versus current and plume characteristics of the Hall thruster with and without segmented electrodes indicates that the magnetic insulation of the segmented thruster improves with the discharge voltage at a fixed magnetic field. The observations reported here also extend the regimes wherein the segmented Hall thruster can have a narrower plume than that of the conventional non-segmented thruster.
Published in: J. Appl. Phys. 99, 036103 (2006)
© 2006 American Institute of Physics
Download PPPL Report Pre-print December 2005 (pdf 701 kB)
OSTI ID: 934607