Experimental Characterization and Simulation-Based Analysis of the RIT-2.5 Radiofrequency Ion Thruster
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arXiv
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| Auteurs principaux: | , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Publié: |
2025
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| _version_ | 1866914035830620160 |
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| author | Joshi, N. Meusel, O. |
| author_facet | Joshi, N. Meusel, O. |
| contents | We report on the experimental characterization of the RIT-2.5 radiofrequency ion thruster, complemented by particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations to establish correlations between plasma parameters and extracted beam properties. The thruster was operated in a dedicated vacuum facility and equipped with optical spectroscopy, Faraday cup, and retarding field energy analyzer (RFEA) diagnostics. Electron temperature was determined from optical emission line ratios (Te about 3-7 eV), while the energy distribution of extracted ions was measured using the RFEA. A comparative simulation campaign was performed to reproduce the experimentally observed energy spectra and to extract plasma density values otherwise inaccessible due to the lack of intrusive diagnostics, yielding best-fit estimates of ne about 1.2x10E16 m-3. The results demonstrate that the energy spread of the extracted beam is strongly dependent on plasma density and electron temperature. The combined experimental-numerical approach provides a non-intrusive yet robust pathway for performance optimization of RF ion thrusters, offers validation benchmarks for advanced plasma simulation codes, and is particularly well-suited to compact micro-N-class thrusters for nanosatellite attitude and orbit control. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_10738 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Experimental Characterization and Simulation-Based Analysis of the RIT-2.5 Radiofrequency Ion Thruster Joshi, N. Meusel, O. Accelerator Physics Applied Physics We report on the experimental characterization of the RIT-2.5 radiofrequency ion thruster, complemented by particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations to establish correlations between plasma parameters and extracted beam properties. The thruster was operated in a dedicated vacuum facility and equipped with optical spectroscopy, Faraday cup, and retarding field energy analyzer (RFEA) diagnostics. Electron temperature was determined from optical emission line ratios (Te about 3-7 eV), while the energy distribution of extracted ions was measured using the RFEA. A comparative simulation campaign was performed to reproduce the experimentally observed energy spectra and to extract plasma density values otherwise inaccessible due to the lack of intrusive diagnostics, yielding best-fit estimates of ne about 1.2x10E16 m-3. The results demonstrate that the energy spread of the extracted beam is strongly dependent on plasma density and electron temperature. The combined experimental-numerical approach provides a non-intrusive yet robust pathway for performance optimization of RF ion thrusters, offers validation benchmarks for advanced plasma simulation codes, and is particularly well-suited to compact micro-N-class thrusters for nanosatellite attitude and orbit control. |
| title | Experimental Characterization and Simulation-Based Analysis of the RIT-2.5 Radiofrequency Ion Thruster |
| topic | Accelerator Physics Applied Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.10738 |