Temporal Characteristics of Radiated Emission from SPT-100 Hall Thrusters in the L, S, and C Bands

Temporal and transient characteristics of radiated emission from four SPT-100 Hall thrusters in the L, S, and C bands (1-8 GHz) are presented. The radiation in these bands was largely pulsed with pulse widths between 10 and 200 ns. A small percentage (< 5 percent) of the pulses occurred in pairs. There was no apparent correlation between pulse amplitude and pulse duration. The pulse rate decreased exponentially with increasing pulse amplitude. In the L band the pulses had a spectral width of approximately 150 MHz. At a frequency of 1600 MHz, the pulse rate appeared to increase with increasing thruster age. Several transient characteristics were observed. Startup emission amplitude and duration decreased with increasing frequency for the measured frequencies of 1400, 1600, 2000, 3000, 6500, and 10000 MHz. Startup transient emission could reach 85 dB~V/m at 1600 MHz (3 MHz RBW) at thruster start but decreased by approximately 25 dB within a few seconds; startup emission appears to increase with thruster age. Small changes in thruster discharge voltages and currents (5 percent) did not change L band emission. There was no change in emission at 1600 MHz due to xenon regulation and feed system pressure surges.