Analysis of the primary experimental results on a 5 cm diameter ECR ion thruster

An ECR ion thruster with a diameter of 5 cm has been developed and tested. Four different antenna positions were experimentally and numerically investigated, and the results suggest that the optimal location for the antenna is where it is perfectly surrounded by the electron cyclotron resonance layer. We also evaluated two different antenna configurations, and found that the star configuration is preferable to the circular configuration, and also that the circular antenna is only 40% as efficient as the star antenna. The experimental curve of the ion beam current and voltage agrees with the fitting results from the analytic solution. The simulation of the magnetic topology in the discharging chamber with different back yoke heights indicates that it needs to be further verified.