Improved Ignitor and Keeper Power Supplies for Hall Thruster

Ignitor and keeper power supplies have been developed specifically for a Hall-effect thruster with a cold cathode. Prior to the development of these power supplies, difficulties had been observed in the operation of cold-cathode Hall thrusters; in particular, they did not start reliably upon turn-on of power. Many specialists in Hall thrusters had attributed the difficulties to the characteristics of cold cathodes as distinguished from those of hot cathodes.