The Hall Thruster Experiment (HTX) was established by Prof. Nathaniel J. Fisch and Dr. Yevgeny Raitses at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) in 1999. The HTX is a part of the PPPL Plasma Science and Technology Department. The research objectives of the HTX are to:

• Investigate fundamental physics of low temperature partially ionized magnetized plasmas and their applications.
• Advance the understanding of physics involved in operation of Hall thrusters, their fundamental limitations and scaling to different power regimes.
• Explore new configurations of crossed field plasma devices for space propulsion, science and material processing applications.
• Develop new diagnostics for characterization of magnetized plasmas.

Sponsors of HTX research projects: US DOE Fusion Energy Sciences, Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Aerospace Corp, New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology.

Operation of the 2.0 KW Hall thruster

Contact: Yevgeny Raitses, Head of HTX.
Email: yraitses@pppl.gov