电子回旋共振离子推力器放电室等离子体静电探针诊断

电子回旋共振离子推力器是一种无阴极静电型推进装置,具有比冲高、无电极烧蚀和寿命长的优点,可用于深空探测和长寿命卫星。在其放电室内存在着复杂的、紧密耦合在一起含电子回旋共振区的静磁场、微波电磁场和等离子体流场,弄清放电室内复杂的场结构对于推力器的结构和性能优化有着重要的作用。为此认为放电室中的离子未被磁化,采用朗缪尔探针直接诊断放电室内的电子温度和离子密度,再根据等离子体的准中性原则,认为离子密度就反映了电子密度。根据诊断结果可以分析出放电室内的氩等离子体场结构。气体流量分别为3 sccm和8 sccm、微波功率分别为10 W和34 W时,实验诊断得到电子温度分布在1 eV～6.8 eV范围内、离子密度分布在2×1016/m3～2.8×1017/m3范围内。

Electrostatic Probe Diagnosis on the Plasma in the Discharge Chamber of an Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Thruster

Electron cyclotron resonance ion thruster is a type of static electric thruster,and it has the advantages of high specific impulse,electrodeless and high durability,which make the thruster competitive in the applications of deep space probe and long life satellite.The discharge chamber is the key component of electron cyclotron resonance ion thruster.Within the discharge chamber,applied magnetic field,microwave and plasma are coupled together.It is important to understand the plasma parameters for the optimization of the chamber structure and its performances.At the assumption of unmagnetized ions in the chamber and with Langmuir probe,the electron temperature and ion number density are diagnosed directly.The results show that at argon mass flow rate of 3 sccm and 8 sccm,and the output power of 10 W and 34 W,the electron temperature and ion density are diagnosed from 1 eV to 6.8 eV and 2×1016/m3 to 2.8×1017/m3 respectively.