Universitãt Stuttgart

Deutsches Zentrum Fur Luft-Und Raumfahrt E.v.

Georg Herdrich

Markus Ortelt

Yung-An Chan

Francesco Romano

Stefanos Fasoulas

A plasma thruster comprises a cylindrical discharge channel (), an injector (), a RF antenna surrounding the discharge channel () and a device () for generating an axial static magnetic field in the discharge channel (). The RF antenna is a cylindrical birdcage antenna () formed of several electrically conductive parallel legs () connected by two end rings () including capacitors () between adjacent legs () in each case. The two end rings () with the capacitors () are formed on two printed circuit boards () to which the legs () are attached, said printed circuit boards () having a through opening for the discharge channel (). The antenna maximizes electrical coupling efficiency and provides resulting electromagnetic fields for quasi-neutral plasma acceleration along with the magnetic field effect provided by the externally applied magnetic field. This plasma thruster allows an easy upscaling or downscaling due to the printed circuit boards and is particularly suitable for low power applications like propulsion for smaller spacecrafts or satellites.

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Esslingen, Germany

Georg Herdrich