Xenon ion beam characterization in a helicon double layer thruster

C. Charles*, R. W. Boswell, M. A. Lieberman

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    93 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    A current-free electric double layer is created in a helicon double layer thruster operating with xenon and compared to a recently developed theory. The Xe+ ion beam formed by acceleration through the potential drop of the double layer is characterized radially using an electrostatic ion energy analyzer. For operating conditions of 500 W rf power, 0.07 mTorr gas pressure, and a maximum magnetic field of 125 G, the measured beam velocity is about 6 km s-1, the beam area is about 150 cm2, and the measured beam divergence is less than 6°.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number261503
    JournalApplied Physics Letters
    Volume89
    Issue number26
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2006

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