Measurements of the plasma flow from segmented electrode Hall thrusters

Passive segmented electrodes with a low secondary electron emission alter significantly plasma flow in the ceramic channel of Hall thrusters. Depending on their secondary electron emission parameters and exact placement in the thruster ceramic channel, they were shown to affect a plasma potential distribution and, as a result, a plume angle of the accelerated plasma jet. In the present work, we are reporting about further results of our efforts directed on characterization of these effects. In particular, the angular distribution of the ion energy and the ion charge state in the plasma flow from the Hall thruster with different segmented electrodes was studied. For this purpose, several diagnostic tools were developed and used. Preliminary results of these measurements for Hall thrusters with and without segmented electrodes are reported and compared.