Magnetically enhanced vacuum arc thruster

Macroparticle Charging in a Pulsed Vacuum Arc Thruster Discharge

A pulsed vacuum arc discharge emits a plasma as well as macroparticles in the form of micron-sized molten droplets of cathode material. Due to their trajectory and size, these macroparticles often pose a contamination threat for both spacecraft-based thrusters, and thin film deposition systems. The charge of these macroparticles was experimentally measured, and compared to a model based on ther...

Ways to Increase the Length of Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes in a Magnetically Enhanced Arc Discharge

Ability to control the properties of single-wall nanotubes produced in the arc discharge is important for many practical applications. Our experiments suggest that the length and purity of single-wall nanotubes significantly increase when the magnetic field is applied to the arc discharge. A model of a single wall carbon nanotube interaction and growth in the thermal plasma was developed which ...

An interchangeable-cathode vacuum arc plasma source.

A simplified vacuum arc design [based on metal vapor vacuum arc (MeVVA) concepts] is employed as a plasma source for a study of a (7)Be non-neutral plasma. The design includes a mechanism for interchanging the cathode source. Testing of the plasma source showed that it is capable of producing on the order of 10(12) charges at confinable energies using a boron-carbide disk as the cathode target....

Plasma instability of a vacuum arc centrifuge.

Ever since conception of the vacuum arc centrifuge in 1980, periodic fluctuations in the ion saturation current and floating potential have been observed in Langmuir probe measurements in the rotation region of a vacuum arc centrifuge. In this work we develop a linearized theoretical model to describe a range of instabilities in the vacuum arc centrifuge plasma column, and then test the validit...

The Arc Diameter and Rate of Rotation of a Magnetically Rotated Arc with Superimposed Gas Flow