Abstract
For the improvement of the performance of a miniature microwave discharge neutralizer, the dependencies of the performance of a neutralizer on the microwave frequency, magnetic field strength, antenna length among other factors were investigated. Extracted electron current depend on magnetic field strength and microwave frequency, and the optimal magnetic field depends on the operational condition. Overall, extracted electron current was achieved 19 mA at xenon mass flow rate of 5 g/s, incident microwave power of 2 W and collector applied voltage of 30 V. The demonstrated performance is enough for practical use as a 30 W class microwave discharge ion engine for 50 kg class satellites.
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