Experiments with an electron cyclotron resonance plasma accelerator

AIAA Journal1964Vol. 2(1), pp. 35–41

Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 1964 papers

Abstract

A plasma acceleration system is described in which power is transferred from an rf electromagnetic field to a flowing plasma by means of electron cyclotron resonance coupling An efficient coupling of energy from the rf field to the plasma can be expected if a right-hand, circularly-polarized wave is used and if the flow conditions of the injected gas are properly established The Lorentz force due to the radial component of the fringing magnetic field then converts the electron paths from transverse to longitudinal, and the resulting chargeseparation field causes the ions to follow Experimental results obtained with a medium power (320 w), S-band (2 45 kMc/sec) microwave accelerator are presented Plane rather than circularly-polarized waves are used in this system In spite of this, the coupling of energy from the rf field into the plasma can be made to be quite good; efficiencies on the order of 80-90% have been measured The rf-plasma interaction zone is rather narrow in this experiment, thereby not making efficient use of the injected gas As much as 22% of the incident rf power appears in the accelerated plasma stream, however The effects of magnetic field strength, gas density and gas injector location on exhaust stream characteristics, rf-plasma interaction zone thickness, and rf reflection coefficient are described Design considerations resulting from these experiments are discussed I Introduction r|THE fact was recognized1 and substantiated2 some time •*- ago that electrical acceleration of charged particles would probably be required to achieve the specific impulses necessary for practical interplanetary travel. Upon this premise, the development of electrical propulsion has proceeded with increasing rapidity over the past few years, and three specific avenues of endeavor—electrothermal, electrostatic, and electromagnetic—have become clearly defined

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Abstract

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