Integrated design tools for RF antennas for helicon plasma thrusters

In this communication we report on a combined experimental-numerical activity thas was conducted to assess the antenna-plasma interaction within a Helicon plasma source for space thrusters. The experiment is based on a versatile, re-configurable set-up which allows testing mulitiple thruster configurations under different operating condtions, featuring a high-efficiency RF antenna. The numerical results were opbtained by means of various simulation tools for both RF circuit and antenna-plasma interface analysis; these tools were validated against experimental data. The results helped to improve our understanding of antenna-plasma coupling and the assessment/prediction of the RF system performance.