Wall Ion Loss Reduction by Acceleration Zone Shifting in Anode-Layer Hall Thruster

In this study, wall ion loss and erosion rate are evaluated in the RAIJIN thruster. The novelty of this work is the detailed analysis of measured guard-ring (metallic channel wall) current, which enables a fast evaluation of the wall ion loss and erosion rate. The current-voltage characteristics of the guard-ring current indicate that the sheath on the guard rings is in the ion saturation regime and that the guard-ring current can be used as a wall ion flux indicator. The experimental results demonstrate that the wall ion loss can be significantly reduced in the magnetic configuration of RAIJIN thrusters with the acceleration zone shifting.