The influence of Hall drift to the ionization efficiency of anode layer Hall plasma accelerator

Abstract

The Hall drift of electrons in anode layer plasma accelerator is analyzed based on Lorentz transformation. It is shown that Hall drift does not exist always in the cross-field. If the ratio of E to B is lager than light speed, Hall drift will disappear. The further analysis shows that the Hall drift is not always in the form of gyration. It is also in the forms of wave and straight line, depending on electric-magnetic field configuration and initial energy of electrons. The electric-magnetic configuration determines the speed of drift, and then affects electron energy. This can determine the ionization efficiency in discharge. A numerical simulation using the Particle-in-Cell method is performed. The result indicates that a nice ratio of E and B will produce high ionization efficiency (for argon, this value is about 4106). This value will change with working gas according to the ionization cross section determined by electron energy.