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High power ecr ion thruster discharge characterization
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Kamhawi, Hani Haag Sr., Thomas Williams, George W. Carpenter, Christian Foster, John E. |
| Copyright Year | 2006 |
| Description | Electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) based ion thrusters with carbon based ion optics can potentially satisfy lifetime requirements for long duration missions (approximately 10 years) because grid erosion and cathode insert depletion issues are virtually eliminated. Though the ECR plasma discharge has been found to typically operate at slightly higher discharge losses than conventional DC ion thrusters (for high total thruster power applications), the discharge power fraction is small (less than 1 percent at 25 kW). In this regard, the benefits of increased life, low discharge plasma potentials, and reduced complexity are welcome tradeoffs for the associated discharge efficiency decrease. Presented here are results from discharge characterization of a large area ECR plasma source for gridded ion thruster applications. These measurements included load matching efficacy, bulk plasma properties via Langmuir probe, and plasma uniformity as measured using current probes distributed at the exit plane. A high degree of plasma uniformity was observed (flatness greater than 0.9). Additionally, charge state composition was qualitatively evaluated using emission spectroscopy. Plasma induced emission was dominated by xenon ion lines. No doubly charged xenon ions were detected. |
| File Size | 1077960 |
| Page Count | 30 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_20060008936 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t1vf1sx85 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 2006-02-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Spacecraft Propulsion And Power Characterization Plasma Jets Plasma Potentials Electron Cyclotron Resonance Xenon Ion Engines Electron Energy Charged Particles Current Density Microwaves Ion Optics Electrostatic Probes Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports ServerĀ (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Technical Report |