Generation of multiply charged ions in accordance with geometry and magnetic field in Hall thruster plasmas

Abstract

The production of multiply charged ions in Hall effect plasmas has been investigated. The factors that significantly affect plasma characteristics, such as geometry, magnetic field configuration, and magnetic mirror ratio, were analyzed. Among the co-current and counter-current configurations of a cylindrical Hall thruster (CHT) and an annular Hall thruster (AHT), the co-current configuration of the CHT shows the largest fractions of multiply charged ions. In particular, for the CHT, the region with high magnetic flux density had a significant influence on the fraction of multiply charged ions, but the fraction of multiply charged ions was not significantly different depending on magnetic mirror ratios. In addition, the configuration having a similar magnetic field in the CHT demonstrated comparable fractions of multiply charged ions and thrust even with different channel lengths. Hence, the broad region with the high magnetic flux density could enhance the probability of further ionization inside the discharge channel.