Liquid-metal-ion source development for space propulsion at ARC
| Autor: | W. Steiger, Carsten Scharlemann, N. Buldrini, I. Vasiljevich, Martin Tajmar, A. Genovese |
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| Rok vydání: | 2008 |
| Předmět: |
Materials science
Spacecraft propulsion business.industry chemistry.chemical_element Liquid metal ion source Propulsion Atomic and Molecular Physics and Optics Electronic Optical and Magnetic Materials Spacecraft charging Field electron emission chemistry Cluster (physics) Current (fluid) Aerospace engineering business Instrumentation Indium |
| Zdroj: | Ultramicroscopy. 109(5) |
| ISSN: | 0304-3991 |
| Popis: | The Austrian Research Centers have a long history of developing indium Liquid-Metal-Ion Source (LMIS) for space applications including spacecraft charging compensators, SIMS and propulsion. Specifically the application as a thruster requires long-term operation as well as high-current operation which is very challenging. Recently, we demonstrated the operation of a cluster of single LMIS at an average current of 100 μA each for more than 4800 h and developed models for tip erosion and droplet deposition suggesting that such a LMIS can operate up to 20,000 h or more. In order to drastically increase the current, a porous multi-tip source that allows operation up to several mA was developed. Our paper will highlight the problem areas and challenges from our LMIS development focusing on space propulsion applications. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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