A Novel Transversal-Feed Electron Cyclotron Resonance Plasma Thruster: Design and Plasma Characteristics Analysis

This paper presents the development, analysis, and performance evaluation of a novel transversal-feed Electron Cyclotron Resonance Plasma Thruster (ECRPT). The ECRPT operates based on the transversal-feed principle and incorporates optimized structural design. Through extensive simulation of the S-parameters of the antenna, optimal antenna sizes are determined for both coaxial and transversal-feed configurations. Additionally, the electric field intensity of the antenna is simulated for both feed structures, revealing higher electric field intensity in the transversal structure, thereby promoting discharge. We employ the drift-diffusion model to calculate the number density of electrons in the discharge chamber and ascertain that the number density can reach an order of magnitude of 1018 m−3. Experimental discharge tests are conducted under various microwave power conditions, demonstrating that the thruster can initiate and cease operation with an incident power as low as 5 W, significantly lower than that of traditional coaxial feed structures. At a power level of 20 W, the ion current density can attain 3 A/m2. Moreover, the transversal-feed thruster exhibits exceptional performance when the power exceeds 10 W, and the propellant flow rate ranges from 0.5 SCCM to 5 SCCM. The superior performance characteristics of the proposed thruster configuration make it a promising candidate for applications demanding efficient and low-power plasma propulsion systems.