Atomic Velocity Distributions Out of Hydrogen Maser Dissociators
Abstract
We have determined velocity distributions of atoms effusing out of RF discharge hydrogen dissociators, of the type used in hydrogen masers. This work was motivated by long-term reliability issues related to the possible use of masers as frequency standards on board satellites. Chief amongst these issues is the maser's hydrogen budget, since many of the common failure modes of a maser involve either the hydrogen source or sink. Since the focusing properties of the state-selecting magnets are velocity-dependent, the overall hydrogen budget will depend not only on the dissociation efficiency, but also the velocity distribution of the hydrogen atoms leaving the dissociation. Many times, that distribution has been tacitly assumed to be Maxwellian at wall temperature, but that assumption is not necessarily valid. Our measurements show the distributions to be much narrower than Maxwellian, and to broaden as the hydrogen pressure in the dissociator increases. Operating the dissociator to yield a relatively narrow velocity distribution and using a state-selecting magnet well matched to that distribution may significantly improve the efficiency of hydrogen use by the maser.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA503712
Entities
People
- Bernardo Jaduszliwer
- Yat C. Chan
Organizations
- The Aerospace Corporation