Effects of secondary γ-electrons from accelerator grid under ion impingement in gridded ion sources

Thus far, effects of secondary γ-electrons emitted from accelerator grids of gridded ion sources on ionization in discharge chambers have not been studied. The presence and induced processes of such secondary electrons in a microwave electron cyclotron resonance gridded ion source are confirmed by the consistent explanations of: (1) the observed jump of ion beam current (Ib) in case of a low-density plasma appearing at the chamber’s radial center due to the microwave skin effect; (2) the evolution of glow images recorded from the end-view of the ion source during the jump of Ib; (3) the over-large jump step of Ib with the increasing microwave power; (4) the pattern appearing on the temperature sticker exposed to the discharge operated in the regime where the arrayed energetic-electron beamlets are injected into the discharge chamber; (5) the measured step-increment in the voltage drop across the screen grid sheath. A positive feedback loop composed of involved processes are established to elucidate the underlying mechanism. Energetic γ-electrons from the accelerator grid and warm δ-electrons from the opposite antenna do not produce direct excitation and ionization, but they enhance the electrical confinement of cold electrons by elevating the voltage drop across the sheaths at the antenna and screen grid, thus leading to the jump of Ib. The energetic γ-electrons-based model can be also modified to explain abnormal results observed in the other gridded ion sources. Energetic γ-electrons from accelerator grids should be taken into account in understanding gridded ion sources.

Grid Deformation Real-Time Measurement System of Ion Thruster Based on Videometrics

In order to conduct high-precision measurement of the LIPS-300 ion thruster grid deformation in a vacuum, high-temperature, and plasma environment, a noncontact videometrics system using a telemicroscope was designed. Based on the captured image, the interactive partitioning edge detection method (IPEDM) was used to obtain stable and clear edges of multiple circular cooperative targets. Meanwhile, magnification factor calibration, rotation angle correction, and subpixel-level grid deformation measurement were performed with cooperative targets. The measurement results show that under the power of 750 W in the discharge chamber, the maximum thermal deformation of the screen grid is 1120 μm, and the gap between the screen grid and the accelerator grid is reduced by 420 μm. An accuracy assessment of the system shows that the grid deformation measurement accuracy is better than 12 μm, and the system satisfies the requirement of high-precision real-time measurements of the grid thermal deformation of the ion thruster under the discharge-chamber-running condition and the plasma-beam-extraction condition.

Performance of Screen Grid Insulating Concrete Form Walls under Combined In-Plane Vertical and Lateral Loads

Insulating Concrete Forms (ICF) walls generally comprise two layers of Expanded Polystyrene (EPS), steel reinforcement is placed in the center between the two layers and concrete is poured to fill the gap between those two layers. ICF’s have many advantages over traditional methods of wall construction such as reduced construction time, noise reduction, strength enhancement, energy efficiency, and compatibility with any inside or outside surface finish. The focus of this study is the Screen Grid ICF wall system consisting of a number of beams and columns forming a concrete mesh. The performance of ICF wall systems under lateral loads simulating seismic effect is experimentally evaluated in this paper. This work addresses the effect of the different design parameters on the wall behavior under seismic simulated loads. This includes different steel reinforcement ratio, various reinforcement distribution, wall aspect ratios, different openings sizes for windows and doors, as well as different spacing of the grid elements of the screen grid wall. Ten full scale wall specimens were tested where the effects of the various parameters on wall behavior in terms of lateral load capacity, lateral displacement, and modes of failure are presented. The test results are stored to be used for further analysis and calibration of numerical models developed for this study.

Tuneable CMOS and Current Mirror Circuit with Double-gate Screen Grid Field Effect Transistors

The multiple-gate aspect of the Screen Grid Field Effect Transistor (SGrFET) increases functionality and reduces component count of circuits. An independently-driven gate SGrFET is used to control the switching voltage as well as the gain factor of an inverter. The multi-gate configuration of the SGrFET allows a decrease in output conductance without an increase of transistors count. This leads to a reduction in fabrication complexity, chip area and parasitics. In addition, a simple SGrFETs-based current mirror circuit is proposed with gain factor control.