Hall thruster plume measurements from High-speed Dual Langmuir Probes with Ion Saturation Reference

The plasma plume of a 6 kW Hall Effect Thruster (HET) has been investigated in order to determine time-averaged and time-resolved plasma properties in a 2-D plane. HETs are steady-state devices with a multitude of kilohertz and faster plasma oscillations that are poorly understood yet impact their performance and may interact with spacecraft subsystems. HETs are known to operate in different modes with differing efficiencies and plasma characteristics, particularly the axial breathing mode and the azimuthal spoke mode. In order to investigate these phenomena, high-speed diagnostics are needed to observe time-resolved plasma properties and correlate them to thruster operating conditions. A new technique called the High-speed Dual Langmuir Probe with Ion Saturation Reference (HDLP-ISR) builds on recent results using an active and an insulated or null probe in conjunction with a third, fixed-bias electrode maintained in ion saturation for ion density measurements. The HDLP-ISR was used to measure the plume of a 6-kW-class single-channel HET called the H6 operated at 300 V and 20 A at 200 kHz. Time-averaged maps of electron density, electron temperature and plasma potential were determined in a rectangular region from the exit plane to over five channel radii downstream and from the centrally mounted cathode radially out to over three channel radii. The power spectral density (PSD) of the time-resolved plasma density oscillations showed four discrete peaks between 16 and 28 kHz which were above the broad breathing mode peak between 10 and 15 kHz. Using a high-speed camera called FastCam imaging at 87,500 frames per second, the plasma oscillations were correlated with visible rotating spokes in the discharge channel. Probes were vertically spaced in order to identify azimuthal plasma transients around the discharge channel where density delays of 14.4 μs were observed correlating to a spoke velocity of 1800 m/s in the E×B direction. The results presented here are the first to positively correlate observed spokes with plasma plume oscillations that could provide the key to understanding HET operation. High-speed diagnostic techniques enable observation and characterization of the oscillatory nature of HETs which will give critical insight into important phenomena such as anomalous electron transport, thruster operational stability and plasma-spacecraft interactions for future HETs.