A hollow cathode is the electronic source and neutralizer of the Hall thruster and an ion thruster.When the orbit of an all-electric propulsion satellite changes from 100 km to 36 000 km, the backpressure changes by t...A hollow cathode is the electronic source and neutralizer of the Hall thruster and an ion thruster.When the orbit of an all-electric propulsion satellite changes from 100 km to 36 000 km, the backpressure changes by two to three orders of magnitude. In this paper, the influence of the backpressure on the discharge characteristics of the hollow cathode has been studied experimentally in the so-called diode configuration. With the increase in the backpressure, the anode voltage decreases gradually, and the amplitude of the current oscillation decreases significantly. Additionally, the plasma is relatively stable, the most probable ion energy and the width of the ion energy distribution reduces, and the electron distribution function inclines toward the Maxwell distribution under high backpressure. The analysis results show that the backpressure affects the gas ionization and the ionic acoustic turbulence, which also affects the discharge characteristics of the hollow cathode.展开更多
Hollow cathodes are widely used as electron sources and neutralizers in ion and Hall electric propulsion.Special applications such as commercial aerospace and gravitational wave detection require hollow cathodes with ...Hollow cathodes are widely used as electron sources and neutralizers in ion and Hall electric propulsion.Special applications such as commercial aerospace and gravitational wave detection require hollow cathodes with a very wide discharge current range.In this paper,a heater is used to compensate for the temperature drop of the emitter at low current.The self-sustained current can be extended from 0.6 to 0.1 A with a small discharge oscillation and ion energy when the flow rate is constant.This is also beneficial for long-life operation.However,when the discharge current is high(>1 A),heating can cause discharge oscillation,discharge voltage and ion energy to increase,f urther,combined with a rapid decline of pressure inside the cathode and an increase in the temperature in the cathode orifice plate,electron emission in die orifice and outside the orifice increases and the plasma density in the orifice decreases.This leads to a change in the cathode discharge mode.展开更多
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 61571166, 11775063, and 51736003
文摘A hollow cathode is the electronic source and neutralizer of the Hall thruster and an ion thruster.When the orbit of an all-electric propulsion satellite changes from 100 km to 36 000 km, the backpressure changes by two to three orders of magnitude. In this paper, the influence of the backpressure on the discharge characteristics of the hollow cathode has been studied experimentally in the so-called diode configuration. With the increase in the backpressure, the anode voltage decreases gradually, and the amplitude of the current oscillation decreases significantly. Additionally, the plasma is relatively stable, the most probable ion energy and the width of the ion energy distribution reduces, and the electron distribution function inclines toward the Maxwell distribution under high backpressure. The analysis results show that the backpressure affects the gas ionization and the ionic acoustic turbulence, which also affects the discharge characteristics of the hollow cathode.
文摘Hollow cathodes are widely used as electron sources and neutralizers in ion and Hall electric propulsion.Special applications such as commercial aerospace and gravitational wave detection require hollow cathodes with a very wide discharge current range.In this paper,a heater is used to compensate for the temperature drop of the emitter at low current.The self-sustained current can be extended from 0.6 to 0.1 A with a small discharge oscillation and ion energy when the flow rate is constant.This is also beneficial for long-life operation.However,when the discharge current is high(>1 A),heating can cause discharge oscillation,discharge voltage and ion energy to increase,f urther,combined with a rapid decline of pressure inside the cathode and an increase in the temperature in the cathode orifice plate,electron emission in die orifice and outside the orifice increases and the plasma density in the orifice decreases.This leads to a change in the cathode discharge mode.
