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Enhanced Discharge Performance in a Ring Cusp Plasma SourceThere is a need for a lightweight, low power ion thruster for space science missions. Such an ion thruster is under development at NASA Glenn Research Center. In an effort to better understand the discharge performance of this thruster, a thruster discharge chamber with an anode containing electrically isolated electrodes at the cusps was fabricated and tested. Characteristics of this ring cusp ion discharge were measured without ion beam extraction. Discharge current was measured at collection electrodes located at the magnetic cusps and at the anode body itself. Discharge performance and plasma properties were measured as a function of power, which was varied between 20 and 50 W. It was found that ion production costs decreased by as much as 20 percent when the two most downstream cusp electrodes were allowed to float. Floating the electrodes did not give rise to a significant increase in discharge power even though the plasma density increased markedly. The improved performance is attributed to enhanced electron containment.
Document ID
20000021222
Acquisition Source
Glenn Research Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Foster, John E.
(NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH United States)
Patterson, Michael J.
(NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, OH United States)
Date Acquired
September 7, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2000
Subject Category
Plasma Physics
Report/Patent Number
NASA/TM-2000-209765
IEPC-99-159
E-12040
NAS 1.15:209765
Meeting Information
Meeting: Electric Propulsion
Location: Kitakyushu
Country: Japan
Start Date: October 17, 1999
End Date: October 21, 1999
Sponsors: Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences
Funding Number(s)
PROJECT: RTOP 632-1B-1B
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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