Generation and acceleration of high-density helicon plasma using permanent magnets for the completely electrodeless propulsion system

In our proposed method of the completely electrodeless electric propulsion system, a high-density (∼ 10¹³ cm^-3 ) helicon plasma is accelerated by the Lorentz force, i.e., the product of the azimuthal current j_θ and the radial component of magnetic field B_r. In order to promote the plasma acceleration scheme, we used permanent magnets (PMs) designed to increase B_r in comparison to the present electromagnets (EMs). As an initial try of the plasma acceleration by our system, electron density n_e and ion velocity v_i of generated plasma using PMs' magnetic field were measured, and we have obtained the maximum value of n_e = 2.5 × 10¹² cm^-3 and v_i = 2.2 km/s. In addition, we have also introduced a combined, flexible operation of using PMs and EMs leading to better plasma performance. (author)