Seminars

The results of two-dimensional Particle-in-Cell modeling of micro-hollow cathode discharges for space applications will be presented. This modeling includes thermionic electron emission from the cathode, several types of electron-neutral, electron-ion, and ion-neutral collisions. In the basic geometry, the simulation domain consists of the cathode, keeper and anode. The keeper is needed to protect the cathode from the energetic ion bombardment.

Two operation regimes will be compared. In the first regime, the keeper potential is kept constant, while in the second regime its potential is floating. It will be shown that the discharge ignition and plasma parameters depend significantly on the keeper potential.