Thomson scattering measurement of laser-produced plasma in a magnetic thrust chamber

Abstract

Laser fusion rocket is one of the candidate propulsion devices for Mars exploration. It obtains thrust from the interaction between plasma and magnetic field and this propulsion system is called magnetic thrust chamber. We constructed a spectrometer with high wavelength resolution of 35 pm to obtain plasma parameters by measuring ion feature of laser Thomson scattering from a laser-produced plasma in a magnetic thrust chamber. We obtain the plasma parameters such as electron temperature, electron density, and velocity as well as the plasma density structure showing the stagnation of the plasma by magnetic field.