Microwave plume measurements of a closed drift hall thruster
The plasma plume from a closed drift hall thruster has been characterized using a 17-GHz microwave diagnostic system. Electron number density profiles are obtained throughout the thruster plume via differential phase measurements. A functional model of plasma density has been developed combining a near-field Gaussian beam term and a far-field point source expansion term. An outcome of this work is a mapping of the transition region between the near- and far-field plume. An indication of slight plume asymmetry is obtained by evaluating total integrated density measurements along rays emanating from the thruster. Additional equations have determined the plasma plume effect on attenuation and spectral characteristics of a wave transmitted through the plume. The attenuation was small, with slightly over 2 dB loss at 0.09 m along the thruster axis. However, ray-tracing attenuation modeling based on plasma density profiles indicates a greater effect for lower-frequency operation. The spectral data of the signal transmitted through the plume exhibited clear 26-kHz harmonic sidebands and added broadband noise. Estimates of potential impact to communication and other electromagnetic satellite systems can be obtained directly from the measurements and from the electron number density distribution models derived from the measurements.
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Related Subject Headings
- Aerospace & Aeronautics
- 4001 Aerospace engineering
- 0913 Mechanical Engineering
- 0901 Aerospace Engineering
- 0202 Atomic, Molecular, Nuclear, Particle and Plasma Physics
Citation
Published In
DOI
EISSN
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Related Subject Headings
- Aerospace & Aeronautics
- 4001 Aerospace engineering
- 0913 Mechanical Engineering
- 0901 Aerospace Engineering
- 0202 Atomic, Molecular, Nuclear, Particle and Plasma Physics