Magnetic confinement studies for performance enhancement of a 5-cm ion thruster

Sandonato, G. M.; Barroso, Joaquim J.; Montes, A.

doi:10.1109/27.553197

Cited by 14 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In addition, different configurations of electron emitters are employed for the neutralization of the extracted ion beam. 6,7 However, this choice introduces new troublesome issues. 4,6 First, higher discharge voltages are needed to trigger the electric discharge.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…4,6,7 In addition to the reduced payload weights, the on board electric power lies well below the above requirements. [1][2][3][4] For an effective downsizing, the first option would be the substitution of the two hollow cathodes usually employed for primary plasma production and ion beam neutralization.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[1][2][3][4] For an effective downsizing, the first option would be the substitution of the two hollow cathodes usually employed for primary plasma production and ion beam neutralization. 4,6,7 Therefore, in small sized ion thrusters, the primary plasma is usually produced by a low pressure electric discharge between a hot cathode and the walls of the discharge chamber with typical diameters below 5 cm. In addition, different configurations of electron emitters are employed for the neutralization of the extracted ion beam.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Ion beam neutralization and properties of plasmas from low power ring cusp ion thrusters

et al. 2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The design and operation modes of a small, low power ion plasma thruster and the properties of the emitted plasma plumes are discussed. The ion beam is extracted from a primary plasma produced by a stationary low pressure electric discharge where the ion production rate is essentially determined by the discharge current. The experiments evidence that the electron neutralization current controls the space charge levels of the outgoing ion current and also influences the spatial properties of emitted plasmas. The electron plasma density increases with the discharge and the electron neutralization currents, while decreases as the plasma plume expands. However, the corresponding electron temperatures decrease when the electron neutralization currents increments. The collisional origin of this electron cooling effect is excluded because of the large collisional mean free paths involved. Then, these electron energy losses during the neutralization of the ion beam would be caused by more subtle physical mechanisms than collisions. The experimental results are compared with previous numerical simulations and similar phenomena found in other experiments.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Ion beam neutralization and properties of plasmas from low power ring cusp ion thrusters

et al. 2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The electron and ion leak areas were estimated using: B 0 ϭ0.1 T, N m ϭ17, L m ϭ5.0 cm, r d ϭ2.5 cm, ␦ es ϭ0.5, and ␤ϭ0.25. 4 The elastic cross section was 0 ϭ20.65a 0 2 and the inelastic cross section was i ϭ5.5a 0 2 for 50 eV primary electrons, 20,21 whereas they were 0 ϭ18.7a 0 2 and i ϭ4.4a 0 2 , respectively, for 30 eV primary electrons. 20,21 The plasma potential ͓Eq.…”

Section: Electrode System For the 5 CM Ion Beammentioning

confidence: 92%

“…In this work a 5-cm-diam and 10-cm-long ion source has been devised for producing 1 mN thrust with a maximum overall power consumption of 50 W. The primary electron containment problem has been numerically investigated and an optimized ring cusp geometry has been found which yields a primary electron containment time as high as 65 s. 4 This translates into a specific impulse of 2500 s with a propellant utilization of about 70% and a minimum electrical efficiency of 25%. This paper deals with the design of ion beam extraction and acceleration grid systems of ion thrusters consistent with the plasma production in the discharge chamber.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conceptual design of a beam extraction electrode system for a 1 mN ion thruster

Sandonato

Barroso

1996

Review of Scientific Instruments

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Conceptual modeling of the multiaperture electrode system of a 5-cm-diam ring cusp ion thruster intended for producing a 1 mN thrust is described. A mathematical treatment of the ion extraction from the plasma has been developed to provide a method for calculating both the shape and potential of the plasma-emitting surface. The ion optics of the electrode system have been examined using a numerical code to evaluate the ion beam divergence. Close agreement is achieved between the predictions of the conceptual modeling presented here and published experimental results.

show abstract

Characterization of the Ion Beam Neutralization of Plasma Thrusters Using Collecting and Emissive Langmuir Probes

Roibás¹,

Tierno²,

Criado³

et al. 2013

Contrib. Plasma Phys.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In gridded electrostatic plasma thrusters, an ion current is extracted from a primary plasma and later accelerated to impart thrust. The operation modes are strongly influenced by the neutralization of the ion current which otherwise becomes space charge limited. This neutralization process is investigated in a small diameter ring cusp ion thruster by using both collecting and emissive Langmuir probes. The ion beam was neutralized by a DC current heated wire placed at the outer section of the thruster and the probes were located between 11 and 24 cm along the axial axis of symmetry. The outgoing ion current is determined by both the magnitude of the discharge current and the ion extraction and the acceleration potentials. The levels of thrust calculated from the emitted ion current are equivalent to similar devices but requiring lower electric power levels. The experimental results evidence that the electron neutralization current not only controls the space charge level of extracted ion currents, but it also affects the spatial properties of the emitted plasmas plumes. The electron temperature of the plasma decreases along the axial distance when the neutralization of the ion beam becomes more effective. On the contrary, higher neutralizer electron currents increase the outgoing plasma density. These experimental results suggest that subtle physical mechanisms are involved in the ion beam electron neutralization process.

show abstract

Magnetic confinement studies for performance enhancement of a 5-cm ion thruster

Cited by 14 publications

References 12 publications

Ion beam neutralization and properties of plasmas from low power ring cusp ion thrusters

Ion beam neutralization and properties of plasmas from low power ring cusp ion thrusters

Conceptual design of a beam extraction electrode system for a 1 mN ion thruster

Characterization of the Ion Beam Neutralization of Plasma Thrusters Using Collecting and Emissive Langmuir Probes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About