ZINC-HALL EM Exploratory concept of a zinc-propellant electric thruster with a downstream electromagnetic acceleration stage

Abstract This document presents an exploratory concept for a space electric propulsion systemcombining a zinc-fed Hall-effect thruster as a first stage with a downstream region intendedto modify the energy and dynamics of the expelled plasma.Zinc is considered because of its solid-state storage, availability, density and the existingexperimental work on its use as a Hall-thruster propellant. A complementary electromagneticacceleration stage is investigated as a possible means of increasing exhaust-ion energy andpotentially specific impulse.The proposed architecture consists of a Hall channel providing zinc vaporization, ionizationand initial electrostatic acceleration, followed by a downstream electromagnetic couplingregion. In this second region, an appropriately configured plasma current could interact withan applied magnetic field to produce a Lorentz body force.A more advanced configuration involving high-temperature superconducting coils, particu-larly REBCO, is also considered as a possible way to generate strong magnetic fields withreduced resistive losses. The feasibility of a space-compatible cryogenic system remains anopen engineering question.This concept does not claim demonstrated performance improvements over existing Hallthrusters. It is an architectural proposal requiring numerical modelling and experimentalvalidation of its feasibility, energy balance, plasma stability and lifetime. Keywords: electric propulsion, Hall-effect thruster, zinc, metallic propellant, electromagneticacceleration, Lorentz force, magnetic nozzle, REBCO superconductor, space propulsion.