Journal
APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS
Volume 94, Issue 25, Pages -Publisher
AMER INST PHYSICS
DOI: 10.1063/1.3152270
Keywords
Hall effect; plasma instability; plasma sheaths; plasma transport processes; plasma-wall interactions; secondary electron emission
Categories
Funding
- Networking Fund of the Helmholtz Association
Ask authors/readers for more resources
It is well recognized to ascribe the anomalous cross-field conductivity inside Hall-effect thrusters to fluctuation-induced transport due to gradient-driven instabilities (Rayleigh or electron drift) and to electron-wall interaction (near-wall conductivity). In this letter, we have performed numerical experiments showing the possibility of another mechanism inducing azimuthal fluctuations: the lateral sheath instability. It is created by a negative differential resistance of the current-voltage I-V characteristic of the floating wall as a consequence of high secondary electron emission. The contribution from this effect to the anomalous axial current is calculated and it accounts of more than 80% of the experimental value.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available