Electron flow properties in the far-field plume of a Hall thruster

Abstract

The plasma properties were investigated in the far-field plume of a 1.5 kW class Hall thruster using a single, cylindrical Langmuir probe. The plasma potential, the electron temperature and the electron density were measured at 191 positions, providing a detailed map of the plume pattern. This map shows that the plasma plume of a Hall thruster is an expanding jet that is symmetric about the thruster axis. The large data set was also used for a detailed analysis of the electron flow properties. This analysis reveals that the plasma plume of a Hall thruster is an isentropic expansion. In addition, the momentum conservation equation shows there is a polytropic relationship between the plasma potential and the electron density with a γ smaller than that for an atomic gas due to ionization.