THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF HELICON PLASMA DISCHARGE FOR RF DRIVEN PLASMA ENGINE

As humanity seeks to reach the stars, the development of advanced high power and high-efficiency propulsion systems is a priority for the space community. Among the various concepts that are being explored globally, one that shows great promise is the RF driven plasma engine. It employs radio frequency (RF) waves in presence of an axial magnetic field to generate high-density plasma which can then be accelerated to high velocities leading to high specific impulse systems. The present study concerns with theoretical modeling of the helicon plasma discharge. The work here deals with modeling the helicon plasma based on the theory proposed by Arnush and Chen, in their two-part paper 'Generalized theory of Helicon waves', [1], and [2]. The description of waves in a constant density plasma with no antenna coupling is reproduced here with a more elaborate mathematical description. Subsequently, antenna coupling with the plasma is considered and methodology to estimate antenna parameters is presented. Typical values for parameters involved are considered for illustration of the methodology.