Ph.D. Defense

Jean Luis Suazo Betancourt 

(Advisors: Mitchell L. R. Walker and Adam M. Steinberg) 

"Laser Thomson Scattering Measurements of the Plasma Structure in the Front Pole Region of a Magnetically Shielded Hall Effect Thruster"

Tuesday, April 16 2024  

9:00 a.m.
Price Gilbert 4222 

Abstract 
Laser Thomson scattering (LTS) is a diagnostic that provides direct access to electron properties in a plasma. This diagnostic is calibrted via laser Raman scattering (LRS). The goal of this thesis was to probe the electron properties in the near field plasma plume of a magnetically shielded (MS) Hall effect thruster (HET), a type of electrostatic electric propulsion device (EP), to provide insight into the applicability of the isothermal magnetic field line model and a notional description of the electron-property-predicted plasma structure traversing the front pole region from the discharge to cathode centerline.  

Committee 

• Dr. Mitchell L. R. Walker, Advisor — AE 
• Dr. Adam M. Steinberg, Advisor – AE  
• Dr. Sedina Tsikata — AE 
• Dr. Wenting Sun — AE 
• Dr. Lukas Graber — ECE