Mathematical modeling of the ion extraction system of a radio-frequency ion source

Abstract

In order to ensure space debris removal from the near-Earth space, the world scientific community is developing various technical means potentially capable of transporting the spent spacecraft to disposal orbits. The so-called Ion Beam Shepherd is among them. According to this method, in order to transfer momentum efficiently from an ion beam generated by a radio-frequency ion source mounted on board a service spacecraft, it is necessary to ensure the generation of an ion beam with the minimum divergence angle. In order to provide generation of a highly collimated ion beam for a system of contactless removal of technogenic space debris, an ion extraction system was modeled with the aim to study the influence of its geometric parameters on the angle of ion beam divergence at the ion source exit plane. Based on the preliminary study, a model of 28 full factorial experiment was developed for two types of electrodes in an ion extraction system. The regression coefficients have been defined that allow, without performing a large array of numerical studies, to assess the influence of various geometric parameters on the ion beam divergence angle.