Hall thruster has been widely used in the orbit transfer and position maintenance due to its large thrust and highthrust-to-power. In addition to the performance parameters of the thruster, operating lifetime is also an importantparameter that determines whether it could be used for the space missions. Ion bombardment by the high-energyions, including the double charged xenon ions and the charge exchange (CEX) ions generated by the chargeexchange collision between neutral gas and xenon ions, makes the surface of keeper electrodes to be etched. Severehitting will lead to the exposure of the cathode tip and cathode tube to the plasma environment which poses a greatthreat to the lifetime of the hollow cathode. To understand the erosion mechanism of keeper electrodes, this paperestablished a three-dimensional simulation model of near-plume of hall thruster. A PIC/DSMC/MCC/Fluid hybridmethod was used to analyze the charge exchange process and sputtering process by tracking the trajectories ofparticles.
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