Development of 5-cm ion thruster and preliminary numerical simulation of plasma in its discharge chamber

Within the "Technology-SG" framework of the scientific and technical program of the Union State of Russia and Belarus a 180 W ion thruster with a direct current discharge chamber is being developed in Keldysh Research Centre. To achieve high performance parameters, electric current density and operation lifetime a project of a hybrid magnetic system consisting of permanent magnets supplemented by electric magnetic coils was considered. This magnetic system configuration combines the advantages of energy savings and the possibility of the operation mode optimization. At the design stage, preliminary numerical modeling with a 3d axis-symmetric particle-in-cell model was used to confirm the theoretical assumptions used in the development of the magnetic system and to further improve magnetic system design. The simulation allowed to obtain the distributions of plasma parameters for various configurations of the magnetic field. In addition, the estimated data on the dynamics of the discharge chamber integral parameters and the ion beam current density distribution over the radius were obtained. These distributions confirmed the correctness of the chosen approach to the development of the magnetic system and were used to form the final thruster design.Within the "Technology-SG" framework of the scientific and technical program of the Union State of Russia and Belarus a 180 W ion thruster with a direct current discharge chamber is being developed in Keldysh Research Centre. To achieve high performance parameters, electric current density and operation lifetime a project of a hybrid magnetic system consisting of permanent magnets supplemented by electric magnetic coils was considered. This magnetic system configuration combines the advantages of energy savings and the possibility of the operation mode optimization. At the design stage, preliminary numerical modeling with a 3d axis-symmetric particle-in-cell model was used to confirm the theoretical assumptions used in the development of the magnetic system and to further improve magnetic system design. The simulation allowed to obtain the distributions of plasma parameters for various configurations of the magnetic field. In addition, the estimated data on the dynamics of the discharge chamber integral p...