摘要： In order to produce a more uniform exit direction for the expulsive ions of ion thruster, a particle simulation is performed to study the confinement of xenon ions by external magnetic field. As a necessary step, the correlation is calculated between ions density and the exhaust velocity of the accelerated
ions with a specific thrust. Furthermore, the ratio of mean interaction potential energy of the ions to mean thermal kinetic energy of the ions is analyzed. According to the magnetized condition for xenon ions, the required magnetic field is estimated for confining the xenon ions is B ≥ 15 T. The perpendicular diffusion of xenon ions in the presence and absence of magnetic field are compared. It is shown that magnetic field
with B = 15 T only brings a slight confinement to the ions.