Disclosed is a high-frequency discharge plasma generation-based two-stage
Hall-effect plasma accelerator, which comprises an annular acceleration
channel having a gas inlet port, a high-frequency wave supply section, an
anode, a cathode, a neutralizing electron generation portion and a
magnetic-field generation element, wherein: gas introduced from the gas
inlet port into the annular acceleration channel is ionized by a
high-frequency wave supplied from the high-frequency wave supply section,
to generate plasma; a positive ion includes in the generated plasma is
accelerated by an acceleration voltage applied between the anode and
cathode, and ejected outside; and an electron included in the generated
plasma is restricted in its movement in the axial direction of the
annular acceleration channel by an interaction with a magnetic field. The
two-stage Hall-effect plasma accelerator is designed to control a degree
of ion acceleration in accordance with the acceleration voltage serving
as an acceleration control parameter, and control an amount of plasma
generation in accordance with the high-frequency wave output serving as a
plasma-generation control parameter. The two-stage Hall-effect plasma
accelerator of the present invention can control the ion acceleration and
the plasma generation in a highly independent manner.