Plume and beam properties of miniaturized low-power cyclindrical Hall thruster for micro-satellites

Abstract

A low-power cylindrical Hall thruster with a power consumption of 50–100 W is developed and its plume characteristics are studied. In order to reduce power consumption, electromagnets are replaced by SmCo permanent magnets. Under a Xe flow rate of 1–5 sccm, the discharge current is approximately 0.02–0.4 A, and the thruster is stably operated with anode voltages in the range of 100–500 V. During operation, the temperature of the baseplate of the thruster remains constant at less than the Curie temperature of the SmCo magnet for at least 6 hours of continuous operation. The plume characteristics are measured and analyzed by a Faraday probe and a retarding potential analyzer.