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Hall-effect thrusters (HETs) operated with xenon are one of the most commonlyused electric propulsion technologies for a wide range of space missions,including drag compensation in low Earth orbit, station-keeping, and orbitalinsertion, as access to space becomes more affordable. Although anomalouselectron transport, the electron drift instability (EDI), and secondaryelectron emission (SEE) have been studied experimentally and numerically inxenon-based HETs, the impact of alternative propellants is still poorlycharacterized. In this work, a two-dimensional particle-in-cell/Monte Carlocollision (PIC/MCC) code is used to model the (r -- $\theta$) plane of a HEToperated separately with four different noble gases: xenon, krypton, argon, andhelium. Models for electron induced secondary electron emission (SEE) anddielectric walls are implemented in order to investigate the coupling betweenthe propellant choice and the radial thruster walls. For all conditions andpropellants studied, an EDI and enhanced electron cross-field transport areobserved. The frequency of the instability, as well as the electron mobility,are compared with analytical expressions from a recently developed kinetictheory. Confirming this theory, it is shown that while the frequency of the EDIdepends on the propellant mass, the electron mobility appears to be almostindependent of the propellant choice.

The effect of alternative propellants on the electron drift instability in Hall-effect thrusters: Insight from 2D Particle-In-Cell simulations