1. Electron cross-field transport in a miniaturized cylindrical hall thruster
- Author
-
Smirnov, Artem N., Raitses, Yevgeny, and Fisch, Nathaniel J.
- Subjects
Electron transport -- Properties ,Electron transport -- Research ,Plasma waves -- Research ,Quantum theory -- Research ,Business ,Chemistry ,Electronics ,Electronics and electrical industries - Abstract
Conventional annular Hall thrusters become inefficient when scaled to low power. Cylindrical Hall thrusters, which have lower surface-to-volume ratio, are more promising for scaling down. They presently exhibit performance comparable with conventional annular Hall thrusters. The present paper gives a review of the experimental and numerical investigations of electron cross-field transport in the 2.6-cm miniaturized cylindrical Hall thruster (100-W power level). We show that, in order to explain the discharge current observed for the typical operating conditions, the electron anomalous collision frequency [v.sub.B] has to be on the order of the Bohm value, [v.sub.B] [approximately equal to] [[omega].sub.c]/16. The contribution of electron-wall collisions to cross-field transport is found to be insignificant. The optimal regimes of thruster operation at low background pressure (below [10.sup.-5] torr) in the vacuum tank appear to be different from those at higher pressure (~ [10.sup.-4] torr). Index Terms--Bohm diffusion, electron transport, Hall discharge, Langmuir probes, plasma propulsion, turbulence.
- Published
- 2006