Plume reduction in segmented electrode Hall thruster

A segmented electrode, which is placed at the thruster exit, is shown to affect thruster operation in several ways, whether the electrode produces low emission current or no emission current, although there appear to be advantages to the more emissive segmented electrode. Measured by plume divergenc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied physics 2000-08, Vol.88 (3), p.1263-1270
Main Authors: Raitses, Y., Dorf, L. A., Litvak, A. A., Fisch, N. J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS
CURRENT DIVERGENCES
ELECTRODES
GAS FLOW
ION THRUSTERS
OPERATION
PLUMES
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Summary:A segmented electrode, which is placed at the thruster exit, is shown to affect thruster operation in several ways, whether the electrode produces low emission current or no emission current, although there appear to be advantages to the more emissive segmented electrode. Measured by plume divergence, the performance of Hall thruster operation, even with only one power supply, can approach or surpass that of nonsegmented operation over a range of parameter regimes. In particular, the low gas flow rate can exhibit low plume divergence. This allows flexibility in operation of segmented electrode thrusters in variable thrust regimes.
ISSN:0021-8979
1089-7550
DOI:10.1063/1.373813