The objective of this research is advance the field of electric propulsion by producing and testing the first generation of fully scalable 2-D high-density electrospray emitter arrays microfabricated on porous metal substrates working in the purely ionic regime. Uniform porous 2D nickel arrays were fabricated with a pitch of 450 microns. These arrays were tested in the laboratory and display high IV characteristics. Ion fragmentation was identified as a source ...
The original project goal was to develop sources of heavy ions for space propulsion based on Taylor cones of heated ionic liquids(ILs). Many commercially available heated ILs have been discovered that reach the purely ionic regime (PIR) of emissions (no drops), offering a new high-efficiency ion source for electrical propulsion. A few commercial ILs have been found to reach PIR even at room temperature. Later efforts were directed at identifying ...
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