Simulation of the Plasma Parameters Dynamics in Iodine in an Electric Rocket Engine based on ICP Discharge

The work carried out numerical studies of the dynamics of iodine plasma formation in an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) discharge, which is the working chamber of modern plasma engines. Calculations were carried out for various values of input power. It is shown that at short times an ion-ion plasma is formed with dominant particles $$\text{I}_{{}}^{ - }$$ and $$\text{I}_{2}^{ + }$$ , and at times from several fractions to a few milliseconds there is a transition from ion-ion to electron-ion plasma with a dominant atomic iodine ion $$\text{I}_{{}}^{ + }$$ .