Design of a Low Power Anode Layer Hall Thruster
Ivana SETTEMBRE, Davide PICCIAU
Abstract. Electric propulsion (EP) has gained significant importance for space applications due to high specific impulse and increasing onboard power availability. This work focuses on the scaling and design of a low-power (~100 W) Anode Layer Hall Thruster (TAL) optimized for Argon propellant. Unlike conventional Stationary Plasma Thrusters (SPT), TALs feature metallic walls and a shorter acceleration channel, offering improved durability and compactness. A novel scaling methodology was developed by improving a phenomenological model to account for TAL-specific physics, including refined wall and anode loss relations. The methodology was validated against a performance database of 21 TAL thrusters, demonstrating excellent agreement. Two design configurations were derived, a baseline 100 W version and a 150 W version with a coaxial hollow cathode. Benchmarking shows promising performance metrics, establishing a robust framework for low-power TAL development.
Keywords
Scaling Methodology, Anode Layer Hall Thruster, Low Power, Argon
Published online 7/20/2026, 4 pages
Copyright © 2026 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Ivana SETTEMBRE, Davide PICCIAU, Design of a Low Power Anode Layer Hall Thruster, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 69, pp 747-750, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644904251-132
The article was published as article 132 of the book CEAS – AIDAA Conference 2025
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
References
[1] Goebel, D.M., Katz, I.: Fundamentals of electric propulsion: ion and hall thrusters. John Wiley and Sons, 79 (2008) https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470436448
[2] Morozov, A.I., Savelyev, V.V.: Fundamentals of stationary plasma thruster theory. Reviews of plasma physics, 203-391 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4309-1_2
[3] Sankovic, J., Haag, T., Manzella, D.: Operating characteristics of the Russian D-55. thruster with anode layer. 30th Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit., 3011 (1994). https://doi.org/10.2514/6.1994-3011
[4] Andrenucci, M., Battista, F., Piliero, P.: Hall thruster scaling methodology. The 29th Int. Electric Prop. Conf., Princeton University, 31 October-4 November 2005 (2005)
