Patent ID: 7624566

Claim:
A Hall effect plasma accelerator comprising: inner and outer electromagnets, with the outer electromagnet circumferentially surrounding the inner electromagnet along a thruster centerline axis and separated therefrom; inner and outer magnetic conductors, in physical connection with their respective inner and outer electromagnets, with the inner magnetic conductor having a mostly circular shape and the outer magnetic conductor having a mostly annular shape; a discharge chamber, located between the inner and outer magnetic conductors; a magnetically conducting back plate, in magnetic contact with the inner and outer magnetic conductors and securing the relative positions of the inner and outer electromagnets, inner and outer magnetic conductors and the discharge chamber; and a combined anode electrode/gaseous propellant distributor, located at a bottom portion of the discharge chamber, wherein the inner magnetic conductor comprises a magnetic conducting core and an inner pole and the outer magnetic conductor comprises an outer conducting cylindrical portion and an outer pole, and wherein the inner and outer electromagnets, the inner and outer magnetic conductors and the magnetically conducting back plate form a magnetic circuit configured to produce a single axial magnetic field that is uniform with respect to an azimuthal direction and is largely axial within an annular discharge chamber.