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Completed TRL 3 (started at 2, targeting 3)
The objective of the proposed research is to characterize the electron energy distribution function at the inner front pole cover of a magnetically shielded Hall-Effect Thruster with a centrally mounted cathode using Laser Thomson Scattering (LTS). The goal of this research is to determine the energy with which the electrons are accelerated to the pole cover. Providing plasma-modelers with this information helps determine an accurate potential drop between the exhaust plasma and the inner pole cover thus providing an accurate measure of the energy that the ions have when hitting the inner pole.
Before magnetic shielding topology was created, the life-limiting mechanism in Hall effect thrusters was erosion of the discharge channel. Magnetic shielding was accomplished by leveraging the isothermality of magnetic field lines in the thruster and creating a magnetic field topology that extends lines adjacent to the walls deep into the anode region where the electrons are cold. The consequence of this magnetic field topology is that extends the ionization region, an energetic region of plasma, downstream of the exit plane of the thruster and into the vicinity of the front poles. Exposure to these high-energy plasma ions erodes the front pole with time. Thus, erosion of the front pole has become the life-limiting mechanism for magnetically-shielded Hall effect thrusters. The front pole erosion phenomenon has been pursued by researchers in the past with the use of intrusive diagnostic probes and Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF). While both methods are advantageous in different ways, LTS provides a method of examining electron energy distribution function, a more comprehensive picture of the plasma physics occurring at the inner pole.
Improve plasma modeling by characterizing electron energy distribution in magnetically shielded Hall-Effect Thrusters.
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