TY - PAT
T1 - Plasma jet source using an inertial electrostatic confinement discharge plasma
AU - Nadler, Jonathon H
AU - Gu, Yibin
AU - Miley, George H
AU - Bromley, Blair P
AU - Sved, John
PY - 2000/9/19
Y1 - 2000/9/19
N2 - An electrostatic ion jet source design, based on inertial electrostatic confinement technology. According to the invention, the inertial electrostatic confinement jet source employs a configuration that is compatible with the generation and acceleration of ions within a vacuum chamber. The device uses a unique spherical configuration, enlarged hole grid, channel guide grid and electron production/confinement method. The prior art designs have to produce a small diameter jet. Virtual cathode formation in a high-density region, combined with a locally distorted cathode grid potential field, extracts accelerated ions in an intense quasi-neutral ion jet. The device ejects matter with a jet form for use as an industrial plasma spray, industrial material processing, waste treatment, welding or cutting materials, or for plasma vapor deposition. The invention also concerns a device that can provide a propulsive thrust force for spacecraft propulsion, particularly an ion jet thruster, which uses an inertial electrostatic confinement design having a discharge plasma for generating ions that provide thrust when accelerated and expelled from the device in the plasma jet.
AB - An electrostatic ion jet source design, based on inertial electrostatic confinement technology. According to the invention, the inertial electrostatic confinement jet source employs a configuration that is compatible with the generation and acceleration of ions within a vacuum chamber. The device uses a unique spherical configuration, enlarged hole grid, channel guide grid and electron production/confinement method. The prior art designs have to produce a small diameter jet. Virtual cathode formation in a high-density region, combined with a locally distorted cathode grid potential field, extracts accelerated ions in an intense quasi-neutral ion jet. The device ejects matter with a jet form for use as an industrial plasma spray, industrial material processing, waste treatment, welding or cutting materials, or for plasma vapor deposition. The invention also concerns a device that can provide a propulsive thrust force for spacecraft propulsion, particularly an ion jet thruster, which uses an inertial electrostatic confinement design having a discharge plasma for generating ions that provide thrust when accelerated and expelled from the device in the plasma jet.
M3 - Patent
M1 - 6121569
Y2 - 1999/08/04
ER -