Cylindrical geometry hall thruster

Patent · Tue Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 2002

OSTI ID:874722

Raitses, Yevgeny ^[1]; Fisch, Nathaniel J ^[1]

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1. Princeton, NJ

An apparatus and method for thrusting plasma, utilizing a Hall thruster with a cylindrical geometry, wherein ions are accelerated in substantially the axial direction. The apparatus is suitable for operation at low power. It employs small size thruster components, including a ceramic channel, with the center pole piece of the conventional annular design thruster eliminated or greatly reduced. Efficient operation is accomplished through magnetic fields with a substantial radial component. The propellant gas is ionized at an optimal location in the thruster. A further improvement is accomplished by segmented electrodes, which produce localized voltage drops within the thruster at optimally prescribed locations. The apparatus differs from a conventional Hall thruster, which has an annular geometry, not well suited to scaling to small size, because the small size for an annular design has a great deal of surface area relative to the volume.

• Research Organization: Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), Princeton, NJ
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-76CH03073
• Assignee: General Plasma Technologies LLC (Princeton, NJ)
• Patent Number(s): US 6448721
• OSTI ID: 874722
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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