High-Density Helicon Plasma Sources: Basics and Application to Electrodeless Electric Propulsion

The development of unique, high-density helicon plasma sources is described. Characterization of the largest and the smallest source sizes is made along with a discussion of particle production efficiency using Ar gas. Next, we describe an application of helicon sources to plasma propulsion using a new advanced concept without any eroding electrodes, as a review of our Helicon Electrodeless Advanced Thruster (HEAT) project.