Numerical simulation on the plasma field within discharge chamber of electron cyclotron resonance ion thruster

Abstract

The discharge chamber is a key component of electron cyclotron resonance ion thruster. The plasma inside it is generated through a electron cyclotron resonance process. The drift and diffusion model of plasma inside the discharge chamber for numerical simulation is developed in this paper. The time dependent parameters of plasma are obtained by solving this model with upwind difference scheme. The results can provide useful information for the design and also the experiment of electron cyclotron resonance ion thruster.