Patent ID: 8723422
Filing Date: 2014-05-13
Classification: F03H,H01J,H05H

Abstract:
1. A cylindrical Hall thruster, comprising: a cylindrical channel having a center axial direction and a discharge channel adjacent to a first chassis; a second chassis coupled to the first chassis via respective chassis flanges, the second chassis comprising a first power source for ionizing at least a portion of ionizable gas in the cylindrical channel to generate ionized gas; a gas inlet for directing the ionizable gas to an interior of the cylindrical channel, wherein the gas inlet comprises an aperture within at least a portion of the discharge channel; and a second power source providing an axial electric field for accelerating the portion of ionized gas through the discharge channel of the cylindrical channel, wherein the axial electric field has an axial direction in relation to the center axial direction, and wherein the second power source comprises an anode located within the discharge channel at a location closer to a discharge opening of the cylindrical channel than the first power source and the gas inlet.