A smaller chamber is used at PEPL for testing very small engines and hollow
cathodes. The Cathode Test Facility (CTF) is a two meter long by 0.6 meter
diameter vacuum chamber that is pumped by a 135 CFM mechanical pump for roughing and a CVI TM500
(20 inch) cryopump with a measured xenon pumping speed of 1,500 l/s. Base pressure for the
facility is 2 x 10-8 Torr. Experiments conducted to date include Laser Induced
Fluorescence (LIF) and electron energy distribution function measurements of the plume of
a hollow cathode plasma contactor, thermography of the hollow cathode, and electron beam
probing of the cathode-to-keeper gap. The facility consists largely of components
either granted to PEPL by NASA Glenn Research Center or bought with funds from NASA
Glenn Research Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
A smaller chamber is used at PEPL for testing very small engines and hollow
cathodes. The Cathode Test Facility (CTF) is a two meter long by 0.6 meter
diameter vacuum chamber that is pumped by a 135 CFM mechanical pump for roughing and a CVI TM500
(20 inch) cryopump with a measured xenon pumping speed of 1,500 l/s. Base pressure for the
facility is 2 x 10-8 Torr. Experiments conducted to date include Laser Induced
Fluorescence (LIF) and electron energy distribution function measurements of the plume of
a hollow cathode plasma contactor, thermography of the hollow cathode, and electron beam
probing of the cathode-to-keeper gap. The facility consists largely of components
either granted to PEPL by NASA Glenn Research Center or bought with funds from NASA
Glenn Research Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
