Measurement of electron density by Stark broadening in an ablative pulsed plasma thruster

Electron density was measured by Stark broadening in an ablative pulsed plasma thruster. The asymmetrical deconvolution is used to obtain Stark broadening. The result shows that the electron density in the discharge channel is 2.534 X 10(22) m(-3) when the discharge energy is 5 J and the measured electron temperature is 18 000 K, and it is in excellent agreement with other experimental and theoretical data. The electron density in the discharge channel increases very minimally with increasing discharge energy. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.