This contribution presents some results obtained by the simultaneous use of a diagnostic developed in the GREMI laboratory for the characterization of energy influxes at surfaces in plasma processing tools and an ion beam diagnostics used in plasma thrusters studies. The combination of these two diagnostics was used in the study of fast ion → fast neutral conversion in the plume of an efficient ion source previously characterized as a plasma thruster. The structure of the gridless source, based on a magnetized discharge, leads to both it's ionization efficiency and it's relative insensitivity to the pressure in the vacuum chamber. The present study shows that this feature makes possible to provide, 70 cm downstream, a significant transfer of energetic ions into energetic neutrals in the ion beam delivered by this source, keeping left the overall kinetic power density.
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