Numerical Analysis of Anode Sheath Structure Shift in an Anode-layer Type Hall Thruster

The anode sheath structure in the hollow anode of an anode-layer type Hall thruster was numerically computed using a fully kinetic 2D3V Particle-in-Cell and Direct Simulation Monte Carlo(PIC-DSMC) code. By treating both ions and electrons as particles, anode surface region, which is electrically non-neutral, was analyzed. In order to analyze in detail, the calculation code was parallelized using Message Passing Interface (MPI). The code successfully simulated the discharge current oscillation. In the low magnetic induction case, ion sheath appears in the anode surface because ionization is enough to maintain the plasma occurs in the anode hollow. As the magnetic induction increases, main ionization region move to outside of the anode. At the same time, anode sheath voltage decreases. In the high magnetic induction case, electron sheath appears on the anode surface periodically because the ionization occurs mainly in the discharge channel. This anode sheath condition shift can be explained using the simple sheath model.