Electrodeless Induction Thrust for Electric Propulsion

Despite much progress obtained in the pioneering MIPE research well documented in the literature of the 1960s, the available switching technology of the day was slow, heavy, expensive, and unreliable at high voltage and current. Switches needed to be switched at hundreds of kilohertz to achieve high exit velocity and high Isp. With modern Si, SiC, and GaN high voltage IGBTs or switching MOSFETs, many MW of power can now be switched reliably with losses of a percent or less. In this proposal, DTI proposes to leverage decades of expertise in state-of-the-art high power switching to study, design, and build a modernized version of the MIPE thruster. This lightweight, electrodeless thruster will exhibit high thrust and high specific impulse capabilities, with the added benefit of minimizing plasma-wall interactions through careful control of geometries and magnetic circuit design.