Plume anti-sputtering device for electric propulsion test and ion flux measuring device

Abstract

The invention discloses a plume anti-sputtering device and an ion flux measuring device for an electric propulsion test, and relates to the technical field of aerospace propulsion, the plume anti-sputtering device comprises a speed reduction assembly, a vacuum wall anti-sputtering assembly and an ion and sputtering material recovery assembly, the anti-sputtering target can effectively reduce pollution of sputtering objects generated in the test process of the electric propeller to the test environment and equipment, the safety of electric propulsion test plume is improved, the sputtering risk of internal equipment is reduced, a vacuum system is protected, and the anti-sputtering target is suitable for tests of various types of electric propellers.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of aerospace propulsion technology, and in particular to a plume anti-splash device and an ion flux measurement device for electric propulsion experiments. Background Technology

[0002] In the aerospace field, electric propulsion technology offers greater efficiency and precision in satellite operation and attitude control. By employing electric propulsion systems, satellites can significantly conserve propellant, thus laying the foundation for deep space exploration. Therefore, electric propulsion technology is widely used in most propulsion missions for LEO satellites, GEO satellites, and deep space spacecraft.

[0003] During electric propulsion product testing, high-energy ions (such as xenon ions, krypton ions, and other inert gas ions) are generated. These ions form plumes and are ejected at high speeds. These high-energy ion plumes sputter and erode the vacuum container and other internal equipment, causing material peeling, performance degradation, or even damage, thus increasing testing costs and risks. Currently, most beam shields are made of expensive high-purity graphite and other materials, which are not only complex in structure but also expensive to manufacture. In addition, some high-energy ions, after being reflected by the sputtering target, can still impact other equipment (including electric thrusters, cryogenic pumps, etc.), affecting equipment operation and test results.

[0004] In addition, in some electric propulsion tests, it is necessary to measure ion flux. However, due to the high price and complex structure of existing beam splitting targets, ion flux measurement is also quite troublesome, inconvenient to operate, and costly. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide an active plume anti-splash device and an ion flux measurement device for electric propulsion experiments, thereby providing a compact and highly effective plume protection target for electric propulsion experiments.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a plume anti-splashing device for electric propulsion experiments, comprising a vacuum chamber. A thruster is disposed at one end of the vacuum chamber, and a splashing target is disposed at the other end. Between the thruster and the splashing target, a vacuum chamber wall anti-splashing assembly, a particle deceleration assembly, and an ion and splash recovery assembly are disposed. The vacuum chamber wall anti-splashing assembly includes a ring coil located on the chamber wall or outside the electric propulsion plume. The particle deceleration assembly includes a screen and a deceleration grid, with the screen disposed near the thruster and the deceleration grid near the ion and splash recovery assembly. A circular opening is formed in the center of the screen. The device has a through-hole, into which the thruster is embedded or placed on the center line of the through-hole. The remaining part of the screen grid has multiple small holes for particles to pass through, and the surface of the deceleration grid also has multiple small holes for particles to pass through. The ion and sputtering recovery assembly includes a particle guiding target, which is disposed between the deceleration grid and the sputtering target. A plurality of particle guiding channels are uniformly embedded on the particle guiding target. The particle guiding channels are inclined and face the center of the sputtering target. The diameter of the particle guiding channel on the side closer to the sputtering target is smaller than the diameter on the side farther away from the sputtering target. A storage groove is provided at the bottom of the sputtering target.

[0007] Optionally, the annular coil is connected to alternating current to confine the plume through a magnetic field.

[0008] Optionally, the angle between the particle guiding channel and the central axis of the particle guiding target is 10°-50°.

[0009] Optionally, a circulating water pipe is provided on the side of the particle guiding target near the sputtering target. The circulating water pipe is located between two adjacent particle guiding channels and is connected to a circulating water tank.

[0010] Optionally, a circulating water pipe is provided on the side of the sputtering target away from the particle guiding target, and the circulating water pipe is connected to a circulating water tank.

[0011] Optionally, the density of through holes at the center of the screen grid and the deceleration grid is high, while the density of through holes at the edges is low.

[0012] Optionally, the screen grid and the deceleration grid are one or more of the following: convex grid, concave grid, and planar grid.

[0013] On the other hand, the present invention also provides an ion flux measuring device, wherein ions are emitted through a plume anti-splashing device described in any of the above technical solutions, and the ion flux is measured using a retardation energy analyzer.

[0014] This invention offers the following technical advantages: It generates a uniform magnetic field along the axial direction of the vacuum chamber using a ring coil. Ions in the electrically propelled plume move along the magnetic field in a straight line or spiral to the deceleration grid, while electrons move in the opposite direction to the screen grid or vacuum chamber wall. The ions, constrained by the magnetic field, cannot reach the vacuum chamber wall, thus avoiding sputtering etching. Furthermore, when the ions reach the deceleration grid, their energy is reduced by the combined action of the particle guide target and the deceleration grid. The ions then move along the particle guide channel and eventually collide with the sputtering target. Due to the unidirectional nature of the particle guide channel, the sputtered material generated by the sputtering target cannot enter the vacuum chamber and ultimately either adheres to the outer surface of the particle guide channel or falls back into the collection tank. Attached Figure Description

[0015] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention; The components include: 1. thruster; 2. vacuum chamber; 3. ring coil; 4. screen grid; 5. deceleration grid; 6. particle guide target; 7. circulating water pipe; 8. particle guide channel; 9. sputtering target; and 10. storage tank. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0018] To make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more apparent and understandable, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0019] Reference Figure 1 This embodiment discloses a plume active anti-splash target for electric propulsion experiments, including a vacuum chamber 2. One end of the vacuum chamber 2 is provided with a thruster 1, and the other end is provided with a splash target 9. A vacuum chamber wall anti-splashing component, a particle deceleration component, and an ion and splash recovery component are provided between the thruster 1 and the splash target 9.

[0020] Specifically, the vacuum wall anti-splashing component includes a ring coil 3. When in use, a current is applied to the ring coil 3 to generate a uniform magnetic field within the vacuum chamber 2. The density of the coil can also be adjusted to generate a "magnetic neck" effect in the thruster plume region, focusing the plume.

[0021] In this embodiment, the particle deceleration assembly includes a screen 4 and a deceleration grid 5. The screen 4 is installed near the thruster 1, and the deceleration grid 5 is installed at the end of the plume of the thruster 1.

[0022] In this embodiment, the screen 4 is hollow, and the remaining part is designed with small holes. The thruster 1 is embedded in the holes or placed at the center line of the holes in the screen 4. The deceleration grid 5 has small holes on its grid surface, and the particle guide target 6 has a particle guide channel 8 embedded in it. The particle guide channel 8 is an irregular conical structure.

[0023] In this embodiment, the screen 4, the deceleration grid 5 and the particle guide target 6 are arranged in sequence and are all installed insulated from the vacuum chamber wall. The deceleration grid 5 can be provided in several layers as needed.

[0024] In this embodiment, one of each of the screen grid 4 and the deceleration grid 5 is used.

[0025] The surfaces of the screen grid 4 and the deceleration grid 5 are provided with through holes. The number and arrangement of the through holes vary depending on the different transmittance designs, and the through hole distribution design is not limited to a uniform arrangement. The screen grid 4 and the deceleration grid 5 can be designed as convex grids, concave grids, or planar grids.

[0026] The center hole density of the screen grid 4 and the deceleration grid 5 is high, while the edge hole density is low.

[0027] The screen 4 and deceleration screen 5 are generally made of corrosion-resistant refractory metals, with molybdenum being a typical material. However, they can also be designed to be made of stainless steel, carbon fiber, tantalum, or other metals depending on the service life and cost.

[0028] Specifically, the ion and sputtering recovery assembly consists of a circulating water pipe 7, a particle guiding channel 8, a sputtering target 9, and a collection tank 10. During use, ions collide with the sputtering target 9 after passing through the particle guiding target 6. The ion energy is reduced again after being cooled by the circulating water, and the sputtering products adhere to the sputtering target 9 or fall back into the collection tank 10.

[0029] In this embodiment, the active plume sputtering shield is used such that after the thruster 1 generates a plume, a bias power supply is connected between the shield 4 and the thruster 1 to collect electrons. A bias power supply is also applied to the deceleration grid 5 and the particle guiding channel 8, with the electric field direction opposite to the ion movement direction, thus reducing the ion energy. When the ions finally collide with the particle guiding target 6, the circulating water also reduces some of the ion energy. Guided by the particle guiding channel 8, the ions eventually collide with the sputtering target 9.

[0030] The plume active splashback target provided in this embodiment is mainly for aerospace propulsion ground tests and vacuum beam targets.

[0031] In this embodiment, the particle guiding target 6, the circulating water pipe 7, and the sputtering target 9 are all tightly connected together.

[0032] In this embodiment, the particle-guided target 6 is a key component of the experimental sputtering target, embedding particle-guided channels 8. These channels 8 are evenly distributed circumferentially on the target surface of the particle-guided target 6. Depending on the particle guidance requirements, the angle of the cone-shaped frustum of the particle-guided channels 8 at different radii of the particle-guided target 6 varies. This constrains the trajectory of ions and guides them into the sputtering target 9. The number and arrangement of the particle-guided channels 8 vary depending on the desired transmittance, and the channel distribution design is not limited to a uniform arrangement.

[0033] The plume anti-splashing device for electric propulsion experiments provided in this embodiment generates a uniform magnetic field axially in the vacuum chamber 2 via a ring coil 3. Ions in the electric propulsion plume move along the magnetic field in a straight line or spiral to the deceleration grid 5, while electrons move in the opposite direction to the screen grid 4 or the vacuum chamber wall. The ions, constrained by the magnetic field, cannot move to the vacuum chamber wall, thus avoiding splashing and etching. Furthermore, when the ions reach the deceleration grid 5, their energy is reduced by the combined action of the particle guide target 6 and the deceleration grid 5. The ions then move along the particle guide channel 8 and finally collide with the splashing target 9. Due to the unidirectional nature of the particle guide channel 8, the splashes generated by the splashing target 9 cannot enter the vacuum chamber 2, ultimately adsorbing on the outer surface of the particle guide channel 8 or falling back into the collection tank 10. This effectively reduces the contamination of the experimental environment and equipment by splashes generated during electric propulsion experiments. This invention improves the safety of electric propulsion experimental plumes, reduces the risk of splashing to internal equipment, and protects the vacuum system, making it suitable for various types of electric propulsion experiments.

[0034] In addition, this embodiment also provides an ion flux measuring device, which includes the plume anti-splashing device for electric propulsion experiments described in the above embodiment. A retardation energy analyzer is added between the screen grid 4 and the deceleration grid 5 to measure the ion flux. It should be noted that the principle and measurement method of measuring ion flux by using a retardation energy analyzer are conventional technical means in this field, and therefore will not be described in detail here.

[0035] It should be noted that the structure of this invention is mainly intended for ground testing of aerospace electric propulsion products, but can also be applied to targets used for shielding or testing plumes in experiments involving electron beams and ion beams, such as vacuum coating.

[0036] The embodiments described above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Various modifications and improvements made by those skilled in the art to the technical solutions of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the present invention should fall within the protection scope defined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A plume splash protection device for electric propulsion experiments, characterized in that: Includes a vacuum chamber (2), one end of which is provided with a thruster (1) and the other end with a sputtering target (9). Between the thruster (1) and the sputtering target (9) are provided a vacuum chamber wall anti-sputtering assembly, a particle deceleration assembly and an ion and sputtering recovery assembly. The vacuum chamber wall anti-sputtering assembly includes a ring coil (3), which is located on the tank wall of the vacuum chamber (2) or outside the electric propulsion plume. The particle deceleration assembly includes a screen (4) and a deceleration grid (5), wherein the screen (4) is disposed on the side near the thruster (1) and the deceleration grid (5) is disposed on the side near the ion and sputtering recovery assembly; a circular through hole is opened in the middle of the screen (4), the thruster (1) is embedded therein or placed on the center line of the through hole, and a plurality of small holes for particles to pass through are opened in the remaining part of the screen (4), and a plurality of small holes for particles to pass through are also opened on the surface of the deceleration grid (5); The ion and sputtering recovery assembly includes a particle guide target (6), which is disposed between the deceleration grid (5) and the sputtering target (9). A plurality of particle guide channels (8) are uniformly embedded on the particle guide target (6). The particle guide channels (8) are inclined and face the center of the sputtering target (9). The diameter of the particle guide channel (8) on the side closer to the sputtering target (9) is smaller than the diameter on the side farther away from the sputtering target (9). The bottom of the sputtering target (9) is provided with a storage groove (10).

2. The plume anti-splash device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ring coil (3) is connected to alternating current and binds the plume through a magnetic field.

3. The plume anti-splash device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The angle between the particle guiding channel (8) and the central axis of the particle guiding target (6) is 10°-50°.

4. The plume anti-splash device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The particle guide target (6) is provided with a circulating water pipe (7) on the side near the sputtering target (9). The circulating water pipe (7) is located between two adjacent particle guide channels (8) and is connected to the circulating water tank.

5. The plume anti-splash device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A circulating water pipe (7) is provided on the side of the sputtering target (9) away from the particle guiding target (6), and the circulating water pipe (7) is connected to the circulating water tank.

6. The plume anti-splash device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The density of through holes at the center of the screen grid (4) and the deceleration grid (5) is high, while the density of through holes at the edge is low.

7. The plume anti-splash device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The screen grid (4) and the deceleration grid (5) are one or more of the following: convex grid, concave grid, and planar grid.

8. The plume anti-splash device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A bias power supply is provided between the screen (4) and the thruster (1) for collecting electrons.

9. The plume anti-splash device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A bias power supply is applied between the deceleration grid (5) and the particle guiding channel (8), and the direction of the electric field is opposite to the direction of ion movement.

10. An ion flux measuring device, characterized in that, Includes the plume anti-splash device for electric propulsion experiments as described in any one of claims 1-9, wherein ions are emitted through the plume anti-splash device and the ion flux is measured using a retardation energy analyzer.

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