Plasma acceleration from radio-frequency discharge in dielectric capillary

A. Dunaevsky, Y. Raitses, N. J. Fisch

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35 Scopus citations

Abstract

A capacitive rf discharge was demonstrated in a dielectric capillary for generation of quasineutral plasma flow with energies of several tens of eV. A potential gradient at the open end of the capillary and high-temperature electrons in the capillary discharge promote the ion acceleration. The plasma flow was generated from, a ceramic capillary with inner diameter of ∼0.8 mm and a length of ∼10 mm, at a gas flow rate of 2-1.0 SCCM (SCCM denotes cubic centimeter per minute at STP) and input power of 15-20 W. The ion energy spectrum consists of high-energy accelerated ions and a low-energy tail formed due to ionization in the acceleration region. The relatively wide plume angle of ∼65° indicates that the acceleration region is placed outside the capillary and has a convex shape. Estimated total efficiency at 2 SCCM Xe flow rate and 15 W input power reaches 2%-3%. This approach may be attractive for micropropulsion applications due to its simplicity, low weight and small dimensions of the source, and the absence of a cathode neutralizer.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number251502
JournalApplied Physics Letters
Volume88
Issue number25
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 19 2006

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)

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