THE INVESTIGATION OF CARBON-BASED MATERIAL GRID FOR ION THRUSTER

Ion optics system,one of key components for ion thruster,is a determining factor that influences the performance and durability of ion thruster.Carbon- based materials,including carbon- carbon composite material and pyrolytic graphite,have shown nearly an order of magnitude improvement in sputter erosion resistance and coefficient of thermal expansion over molybdenum. Carbon is the perfect material for grid,which was demonstrated that it can enhance the performance and life of ion thruster effectively,and has been successfully applied in a series of advanced ion thrusters. Development of carbon-based material grid and the character of carbon-based materials are investigated in this paper. Aiming at long-term progress strategy of ion thruster,preliminary suggestions for fabrication carbon-based material grid are put forward in view of the domestic development level of carbon-based materials.