Operation of a High-Power Nested Hall Thruster with Reduced Cathode Flow Fraction

What is it about?

Cathode flow rate in Hall thrusters is typically set to 7-10% of the anode flow rate. However, as thrusters are scaled to high power, the required anode flow rate outpaces what the cathode requires for stable operation. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that with a properly designed cathode, a high-power Hall thruster can be operated stably with cathode flow fractions as low as 3% with minimal impact on thruster operation and performance.

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