Nathan Brown
(Advisors: Prof. Mitchell Walker and Prof. Adam Steinberg]

will propose a doctoral thesis entitled,

Development and Evaluation of Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy for Electric Propulsion Plasma Diagnostics

On

Wednesday, July 29 at 9 a.m.
https://bluejeans.com/1111838738

Abstract
Electric propulsion utilizes plasma to provide propel satellites and space exploration vehicles. Due to limitations in available plasma diagnostics, open questions regarding the physics of electric propulsion thruster operation remain unanswered. The purpose of this thesis is to develop and evaluate the electric propulsion (EP) plasma diagnostic capabilities of a novel plasma diagnostic: terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). This dissertation proposal poses three research questions with accompanying analytical and experimental tests: 1) In what environments is THz-TDS an applicable plasma diagnostic?, 2) Can THz-TDS make measurements in plasma bounded and optically obscured by Hall thruster wall material?, and 3) What is the plasma parameter measurement uncertainty of THz-TDS?

Committee

• Prof. Mitchell Walker – School of Aerospace Engineering (advisor)
• Prof. Adam Steinberg – School of Aerospace Engineering (advisor)
• Prof. Lukas Graber – School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
• Prof. Jason Deibel – School of Physics, Wright State University