Controlling the Plasma Flow in the Miniaturized Cylindrical Hall Thruster
Authors: A. Smirnov, Y. Raitses and N.J. Fisch
Abstract:
A substantial narrowmg of the plume of the cylindrical RaIl thruster (CRT) was observed upon the enhancement of the electron emission from the hollow cathode discharge, which implies the possibility for the thruster efficiency increase due to the ion beam focusing. It is demonstrated that the miniaturized CRT can be operated in the non-self-sustained regime, with the discharge current limited by the cathode electron emission. The thruster operation in this mode greatly expands the range of the plasma and discharge parameters normally accessible for the CRT.
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Submitted to: IEEE Transactions on Plasma Sciences Hall Thruster (December, 2007)
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Download PPPL-4303 (pdf 9.07 MB)
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