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Miniature ion thrusters are well suited for future space missions that require high efficiency, precision thrust, and low contamination in the mN to sub-mN range. JPL’s miniature xenon Ion (MiXI) thruster has demonstrated an efficient discharge and ion extraction grid assembly using filament cathodes and the internal conduction (IC) cathode. JPL is currently preparing to incorporate a miniature hollow cathode for the MiXI discharge. Computational analyses anticipate that an axially upstream hollow cathode location provides the most favorable performance and beam profile; however, the hot surfaces of the hollow cathode must be sufficiently downstream to avoid demagnetization of the cathode magnet at the back of the chamber, which can significantly reduce discharge performance. MiXI’s ion extraction grids are designed to provide >3mN of thrust; however, previous to this effort, the low-thrust characteristics had not been investigated. Experimental results obtained with the MiXI-II thruster (a near replica or the original MiXI thruster) show that sparse average discharge plasma densities of ∼5×10^15–5×10^16 m^−3 allow the use of very low beamlet focusing extraction voltages of only ∼250–500 V, thus providing thrust levels as low as 0.03 mN for focused beamlet conditions. Consequently, the thrust range thus far demonstrated by MiXI in this and other tests is 0.03–1.54 mN.

Distributions of ion energy-per-charge were collected with an electrostatic energy analyzer directed along various lines-of-sight in the near-plume region of a hollow cathode operating in a laboratory discharge chamber. While the analyzer was stationary, the cathode and anode assembly were mounted on a rotary and a linear stage, allowing measurements along the cathode axis and at off-axis angles up to 90°; the linear stage enabled translational motion which allowed for measurements parallel to the cathode axis. At angles below 45°, three distinct ion populations were identified: two low-energy narrow peaks and a broad high-energy “tail” with energies-per-charge in excess of 5 times the discharge voltage. Detection of low-energy ions above 45° was not possible since they were confined by the anode voltage. At large angles, the intensity of the high-energy ion signal decreased to become indistinguishable from noise in the data system; however, based on previous results, the failure to detect high-energy ions at large angles has been attributed to the large distance between the ESA line-of-sight and the cathode axis increased from 0° to 16°, the location of the low-energy ion peaks shift but there is no apparent difference in the high-energy ion tail. Increasing the separation angle further yields a decrease in intensity at all energies. For low energies-per-charge, the shape and intensity of the unidirectional ion-energy distribution does not change when the cathode is translated up to 2.5cm; however, as the distance from the cathode centerline increases, the signal intensity of the high-energy ions decreases in a manner similar to the decrease in high-energy ions seen with increasing angles above 30°. These results indicate that magneto-gas dynamic forced did not accelerate the ions observed in this experiment; additional experiments will elucidate the mass and energy dependence of the mechanisms responsible for high-energy ions.