METHOD OF IMPROVING BEAM CURRENT DENSITY UNIFORMITY FOR ION THRUSTER

Ion thruster beam current density uniformity is evaluated by the beam flatness parameter,which is defined as the ratio of the average beam current density to the maximum beam current density. The beam flatness parameter is used to assess the discharge chamber plasma uniformity and extraction grids utilization. Influencing factors of the beam current density uniformity were discussed and theirs influence mechanism was analyzed. Finally several suggestions are proposed for ion thruster beam current density uniformity design.