SBIR/STTR Award attributes
Two complementary diagnostic techniques, Two-photon Absorption Laser-Induced Fluorescence (TALIF) and Radar Resonance Enhanced Multi-Photon Ionization (Radar REMPI), are proposed for measuring concentrations of neutral xenon in Hall thruster research. TALIF excels in a highly ionized environment, and Radar REMPI excels in a highly luminous environment. Both methods have the potential to provide nonintrusive measurements at millimeter-level spatial resolution and sub-microsecond-level time resolution, and both were successfully demonstrated in Phase I, TALIF at concentrations of around 1014 per cubic meter and Radar REMPI at around 1019 per cubic meter, both in non-optimized setups. In the proposed study, both techniques will be incorporated into a single-laser prototype system optimized for application to a Hall thruster. The system will be demonstrated on two Hall thrusters with a target sensitivity of 1015 per cubic meter. The data to be obtained are expected to aid in the development of advanced satellite propulsion systems.
