Krypton charge exchange cross sections for Hall effect thruster models
- Institute for Scientific Research, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02159 (United States)
- Air Force Research Laboratory, Space Vehicles Directorate, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico 87117 (United States)
Following discharge from a Hall effect thruster, charge exchange occurs between ions and un-ionized propellant atoms. The low-energy cations produced can disturb operation of onboard instrumentation or the thruster itself. Charge-exchange cross sections for both singly and doubly charged propellant atoms are required to model these interactions. While xenon is the most common propellant currently used in Hall effect thrusters, other propellants are being considered, in particular, krypton. We present here guided-ion beam measurements and comparisons to semiclassical calculations for Kr{sup +} + Kr and Kr{sup 2+} + Kr cross sections. The measurements of symmetric Kr{sup +} + Kr charge exchange are in good agreement with both the calculations including spin-orbit effects and previous measurements. For the symmetric Kr{sup 2+} + Kr reaction, we present cross section measurements for center-of-mass energies between 1 eV and 300 eV, which spans energies not previously examined experimentally. These cross section measurements compare well with a simple one-electron transfer model. Finally, cross sections for the asymmetric Kr{sup 2+} + Kr {yields} Kr{sup +} + Kr{sup +} reaction show an onset near 12 eV, reaching cross sections near constant value of 1.6 A{sup 2} with an exception near 70-80 eV.
- OSTI ID:
- 22102360
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 113, Issue 16; Other Information: (c) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Kr II laser-induced fluorescence for measuring plasma acceleration
Passive optical diagnostic of Xe propelled Hall thrusters. II. Collisional-radiative model