Sputtering of Hollow Inner Magnetic Pole of Cylindrical Anode Layer Hall Thruster: A Simulation Study

The ion sputtering of the magnetic-poles, in D-80 hollow inner magnetic pole cylindrical anode layer Hall thruster, was mathematically modeled, numerically simulated in PIC/MCC method with software VORPAL, and experimentally evaluated. The influence of the discharge power, magnetic fields and argon pressure, on the sputtering ion properties and sputtering of magnetic poles surfaces was investigated. The simulated results show that depending on the discharge power and argon pressure, the surfaces of inner/outer magnetic-poles were significantly sputtered to varying degrees. To be specific, the surfaces of the inner magnetic-pole are sputtered much more severely than those of the outer magnetic-pole; and the average-energy and incident angle of the ion bombarding the inner-pole are smaller than those impinging the outer-pole. Large discharge power and high argon pressure result in stronger sputtering. The simulated and measured results were in good agreement.