Effects of segmented electrode in Hall current plasma thrusters

Segmented electrodes placed along a ceramic channel in a Hall thruster are shown to influence significantly the plasma potential distribution. Both the radial potential and the axial acceleration region are sensitive to the location of the segmented electrodes. The measured and theoretical potential profiles appear to be affected in detail by the electrode material (graphite) having lower secondary electron emission than the ceramic channel walls. The measured plasma potential profile is shown as well to correlate with the observed and desirable narrowing of the plasma plume emanating from the thruster. © 2002 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70788/2/JAPIAU-92-9-4906-1.pd

Plasma Characterization of Hall Thruster with Active and Passive Segmented Electrodes

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

Investigations of Probe Induced Perturbations in a Hall Thruster

An electrostatic probe used to measure spatial plasma parameters in a Hall thruster generates perturbations of the plasma. These perturbations are examined by varying the probe material, penetration distance, residence time, and the nominal thruster conditions. The study leads us to recommendations for probe design and thruster operating conditions to reduce discharge perturbations, including metal shielding of the probe insulator and operation of the thruster at lower densities

Measurements of Plasma Potential Distribution in Segmented Electrode Hall Thruster

Use of a segmented electrode placed at the Hall thruster exit can substantially reduce the voltage potential drop in the fringing magnetic field outside the thruster channel. In this paper, we investigate the dependence of this effect on thruster operating conditions and segmented electrode configuration. A fast movable emissive probe is used to measure plasma potential in a 1 kW laboratory Hall thruster with semented electrodes made of a graphite material. Relatively small probe-induced perturbations of the thruster discharge in the vicinity of the thruster exit allow a reasonable comparison of the measured results for different thruster configurations. It is shown that the plasma potential distribution is almost not sensitive to changes of the electrode potential, but depends on the magnetic field distribution and the electrode placement

Measurements of Secondary Electron Emission Effects in the Hall Thruster Discharge

The dependence of the maximum electron temperature on the discharge voltage is studied for two Hall thruster configurations, in which a collisionless plasma is bounded by channel walls made of materials with different secondary electron emission (SEE) properties. The linear growth of the temperature with the discharge voltage, observed in the channel with a low SEE yield, suggests that SEE is responsible for the electron temperature saturation in the thruster configuration with the channel walls having a higher SEE yield. The fact that the values of the electron temperature at saturation are rather high may indirectly support the recently predicted kinetic regime of the space charge saturation of the near-wall sheath in the thruster discharge. A correlation between the effects of the channel wall material on the electron temperature and the electron cross-field current was also observed

Operation of a Segmented Hall Thruster with Low-sputtering Carbon-velvet Electrodes

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 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 lasted for about 1 h. 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 nonsegmented thruster

Electron-wall interaction in Hall thrusters

Electron-wall interaction effects in Hall thrusters are studied through measurements of the plasma response to variations of the thruster channel width and the discharge voltage. The discharge voltage threshold is shown to separate two thruster regimes. Below this threshold, the electron energy gain is constant in the acceleration region and therefore, secondary electron emission (SEE) from the channel walls is insufficient to enhance electron energy losses at the channel walls. Above this voltage threshold, the maximum electron temperature saturates. This result seemingly agrees with predictions of the temperature saturation, which recent Hall thruster models explain as a transition to space-charge saturated regime of the near-wall sheath. However, in the experiment, the maximum saturation temperature exceeds by almost three times the critical value estimated under the assumption of a Maxwellian electron energy distribution function. The channel narrowing, which should also enhance electron-wall collisions, causes unexpectedly larger changes of the plasma potential distribution than does the increase of the electron temperature with the discharge voltage. An enhanced anomalous crossed-field mobility (near wall or Bohm-type) is suggested by a hydrodynamic model as an explanation to the reduced electric field measured inside a narrow channel. We found, however, no experimental evidence of a coupling between the maximum electron temperature and the location of the accelerating voltage drop, which might have been expected due to the SEE-induced near-wall conductivity.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87763/2/057104_1.pd

Plasma Characterization of Hall Thruster with Active and Passive Segmented Electrodes

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