Abstract
A microplasma thruster has been developed, consisting of a cylindrical microplasma source 10mm long and 1.5mm in inner diameter and a conical micronozzle 1.0–1.4mm long with a throat of 0.12–0.2mm in diameter. The feed or propellant gas employed is Ar at pressures of 10–100kPa, and the surface-wave-excited plasma is established by 4.0GHz microwaves at powers of <10W. The thrust has been measured by a combination of target and pendulum methods, exhibiting the performance improved by discharging the plasma. The thrust obtained is 1.4mN at an Ar gas flow rate of 60SCCM (1.8mg∕s) and a microwave power of 6W, giving a specific impulse of 79s and a thrust efficiency of 8.7%. The thrust and specific impulse are 0.9mN and 51s, respectively, in cold-gas operation. A comparison with numerical analysis indicates that the pressure thrust contributes significantly to the total thrust at low gas flow rates, and that the micronozzle tends to have an isothermal wall rather than an adiabatic.
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