Abstract
In order to image ion thruster beam optics with high resolution, a two-dimensional visualized ion thruster had been modified and improved. Judging from the visualization experiments with a tele-centric lens and a digital camera, it was confirmed that the behavior of visualized beam optics were well accorded with electrostatic acceleration theory. Since both the ion beam shape and plasma sheath shape can be obtained, in addition to the grid currents, the visualized images of this thruster is useful for the multifaceted validation of ion beam optics codes, and is of value for improvement of prediction accuracy of ion thruster durability life.
