Spatial retarding field energy analyzer measurements downstream of a helicon double layer plasma

W. Cox*, C. Charles, R. W. Boswell, R. Hawkins

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    63 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Spatial ion energy measurements using a retarding field energy analyzer are performed in the exhaust of a 0.30 mTorr, 250 W helicon double layer plasma to investigate the divergence of the argon ion beam formed by acceleration in the double layer. Various divergence angles are computed by considering the radial distribution of beam density; the average beam ion diverging by 9°. The efficiency at which momentum is imparted parallel to the longitudinal axis of the thruster is calculated to be 98%. The results show that a few centimeters downstream of the source, the beam ions do not follow the magnetic field lines.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number071505
    JournalApplied Physics Letters
    Volume93
    Issue number7
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2008

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