Concentrated ion beam emitted from an enlarged cylindrical-anode-layer Hall plasma accelerator and mechanism

An enlarged cylindrical-anode-layer Hall plasma accelerator with an outlet diameter of 150 mm is experimentally demonstrated to produce a concentrated ion beam, especially at a high discharge voltage, with a high current utilization efficiency of up to ∼0.9. Numerical investigation based on the three-dimensional particle-in-cell method is performed to study the ion dynamics and elucidate the origin of the ion beam characteristics. The simulation results reveal that the equipotential lines play an important role in the surface near the anode emitting the ions. The ion emitting surface is determined by the magnetic field lines near the anode and the magnetic mirror contributes to the concentrated beam significantly. The high current utilization efficiency results from the appropriate obliquity of the magnetic mirror.